ALTONA, Man. – After two years of planning and negotiations, a group of farmers narrowly avoided having their financial carpet yanked out from underfoot, which would have sent their dreams of a pasta plant for this southern Manitoba town crashing down.
About six months ago, the federal government’s Western Economic Diversification department’s mandate shifted away from providing loans to encouraging credit unions and banks to set up venture capital funds for value-added projects.
At stake was a critical $1-million federal loan the pasta plant promoters were planning on.
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“We did not fit into that new mandate,” said Eugene Heinrichs, Altona-area farmer and president of Prairie Harvest Canada, the group planning the plant. “We felt (the money) was lost.”
But last week, the minister for the department announced the loan was included in the February budget. Prairie Harvest will now finish securing loans and investments for the $5-million plant and hopes to start construction next year.
The plant will produce about 5,000 tonnes of pasta and employ 10 people. But the group also hopes it will spark related manufacturing plants for products like parmesan cheese and pasta sauce.
It’s been about 15 years since a commercial pasta plant has operated in the province.
