A technical team from Taiwan will arrive in Alberta in mid-June to give the final nod to the set of blueprints that will be used for a controversial 7,500-sow hog barn complex.
Clarence Froese of DGH Engineering said Taiwan Sugar Corp.’s construction tenders for the barns south of Hardisty will be issued in July once the blueprints are finalized.
Froese said his company had originally hoped construction would start in August, but that decision will be left until the Taiwan technical team arrives in Canada.
Read Also
Soybean market still figuring out implications of China-U.S. pact
Soybean futures had a muted reaction to the U.S. trade deal with China as the market tries to figure out the nuances of the deal.
The technical team will be in Hardisty from June 13-19.
A Taiwan Sugar office has been open in Hardisty for a month.
“The decision when to start construction will be made in June,” said Froese.
Construction will go ahead despite an upcoming Court of Appeal hearing on the hog barn. Earlier this year, a judge granted leave to appeal to a group opposed to the barn.
An appeal date hasn’t been set.
Last winter, a County of Flagstaff Development Appeal Board agreed with the county’s development officer that the barn could go ahead.
But because there was so much opposition, both the board and the development officer laid down a series of conditions that must be met before construction can begin.
County manager Shelly Armstrong said neither DGH nor Taiwan Sugar has contacted the county about the conditions.
“The terms of the development permit have to be met before site development begins,” Armstrong said.
“We need proof of certain things and we haven’t got them yet.”
Armstrong said if Taiwan Sugar goes ahead with construction before the Court of Appeal decision, it would do so at its own risk.
“The developer can proceed at his risk. If he loses the appeal, whatever work stops.”
