The federal government’s recent 2-week trade mission to Asia, which included provincial leaders and business leaders, has resulted in a multi-million-dollar deal for Fording Coal.
The Calgary-based company signed a memorandum of understanding with Thai Special Steel Industry (TSSI) calling for delivery of some 500,000 tonnes of metallurgical coal per year to TSSI’s new steel production plant.
The contract, worth an estimated $150 million, will be signed in late 1998 and is expected to last five years. The new plant is scheduled to start up in mid-1999.
It is estimated that 400 jobs will be created, directly and indirectly, by the new deal.
“This trip has certainly been worthwhile,” says Fording President James Gardiner, who was among some 400 business leaders who visited Thailand, South Korea and the Philippines.
During the trip, Canadian business leaders are reported to have signed contracts and agreements worth about $2 billion.
Gardiner praised British Columbia Premier Glen Clark for his support of the province’s coal industry, saying his advocacy for the province’s coal producers was “deeply appreciated.”
The coal will be supplied from Fording’s three mines in southeastern British Columbia. Fording, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Pacific, also has operations in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The company is Canada’s largest producer of export coal, with annual production at its British Columbia operations alone of about 15 million tonnes.
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