Hiring is underway and construction is set to begin this summer on the Cedar Link Project, a pipeline connector that will supply natural gas to a meter station near the LNG Canada facility in Kitimat.
“As always our commitment was always and is that together we will create an extraordinary legacy of safety and respect for all communities and environment,” said Tamara Trevelyan, Community Relations Project Advisor with Coastal GasLink.
Once complete, the meter station will then connect to the Cedar LNG Pipeline, which will carry gas to the Cedar LNG facility.
Cedar LNG, majority-owned by the Haisla Nation, has secured all major permits and announced its final investment decision on June 24. It aims to produce low-carbon, cost-competitive LNG for overseas markets.
Construction on the Cedar Link connector and metering station is scheduled to start in the coming weeks. Trevelyan said the project is smaller in scale than the Coastal GasLink pipeline, with about 20 to 30 workers expected on site in July and August. Up to 75 workers will be required for the metering station in September, with staffing reduced to about 25 to 30 in October. Final commissioning in spring 2026 is expected to involve up to 50 workers.
Trevelyan said construction will largely be confined to the LNG Canada site, but it also includes work at the meter station just outside the fenceline, with limited impacts on nearby neighbourhoods.
“Most of the work is to take place on the LNG Canada footprint, but there could be an increase in traffic flow to and from the site,” she said. “Equipment on site during construction will be at the LNG Canada footprint,” she added, noting that work will involve earth-moving, pile driving, excavation, material handling, welding and testing.
Councillor Edwin Empinado raised questions about local hiring. Trevelyan said a program is in place to prioritize local workers.
Trevelyan also addressed earlier environmental violations linked to the Coastal GasLink project. She said the company took “immediate and decisive actions” and entered into a compliance agreement with the province following what she described as a contractor’s recording error.
In response to questions from councillor Michelle Martins about community contributions, Trevelyan said TC Energy has donated about $92,000 to the community since 2019, although she noted that few funding applications have been received. She encouraged local groups to submit proposals.
On June 25 last year, Cedar LNG made history when it declared a positive final investment decision for the world’s first Indigenous majority-owned LNG facility.
Construction began immediately, focusing on site preparation and clearing. The floating LNG unit is under construction overseas and is expected to arrive in Kitimat in 2028.
Clarification: An earlier version of this story was unclear about the role of the Cedar Link Project. To clarify, the Cedar Link Project involves a pipeline connector and a metering station near the LNG Canada site in Kitimat. The metering station will then connect to the separate Cedar LNG Pipeline, which will carry gas to the Cedar LNG facility. The story has been updated to better reflect this connection.
