U.S. President Donald Trump is planning to approve the ‘Alberta to Alaska’ railway project.
He tweeted out on Friday he intends on issuing a presidential permit after getting recommendations from two American politicians.
The multi-billion dollar project would see bitumen shipped from the Fort McMurray area to Alaska, providing an alternative route to tidewaters.
The railway is expected to transport, on average, between 1 million and 1.5 million barrels of oil per day.
Based on the strong recommendation of @SenDanSullivan and @repdonyoung of the Great State of Alaska, it is my honor to inform you that I will be issuing a Presidential Permit for the A2A Cross-Border Rail between Alaska & Canada. Congratulations to the people of Alaska & Canada!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2020
The Alaska – Alberta Railway Development Corporation has been looking to obtain a presidential permit for over a year as one is needed for any project that goes between the two countries.
Meanwhile, they will need to go through an environmental impact assessment before they can get a permit from the government of Canada. A joint panel would most likely need to recommend its approval before it’s officially given the green light.
If approved, the project is expected to create thousands of jobs and put billions of dollars into Alberta’s economy.