IGNACE – The Nuclear Waste Management Organization has released the final design for its Centre of Expertise which will serve as both a workspace for staff and a learning centre for the public.
The futuristic 55,000-square-foot facility will be constructed on a 67-acre piece of land near the Ignace municipal offices on Highway 17.
It will include work areas and technical space for NWMO staff, multi-purpose gathering spaces, and an interactive visitors’ centre where the public can learn more about nuclear waste management.
The project will be a $50 million investment in the community, and will provide between 160 and 200 jobs, according to Vince Ponka, Indigenous and Regional Communications Manager for the NWMO.
“Some of our staff will also be working out of the deep geological repository site, but a large portion of our staff will be working out of the Centre of Expertise in Ignace,” he said in an interview Tuesday.
“(This) means a lot of growth in Ignace, and a lot of people moving to Ignace in the coming years. So, its very, very exciting, not just for the NWMO but for the Northwest in general.”
The design comes from a collaboration of seven architectural firms, four of which are in Thunder Bay, and three from the Toronto-area.
The NWMO is expecting to choose a contractor within the next few weeks, and plans to begin construction next year.
Federal reviews of plans for the underground nuclear waste repository, and final approval for the storage site, will take several years to complete.
Ponka, however, told Newswatch the Centre of Expertise will proceed independent of the review process for the repository.
He said it’s a “significant, negotiated commitment that the municipality included in the hosting agreement signed in 2024 to ensure the investments made in association with Canada’s used fuel repository support the community in achieving its aspirations for the future.”
