By Charles Lefebvre

CanWest constructing hangar for new air ambulance service

Jan 4, 2018 | 2:33 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Construction on the new hangar space for CanWest Air Ambulance is well underway, and the company says the building itself will be up by the end of the month.

The city approved a lease agreement for CanWest to develop space for a hangar at the airport during the last meeting on December 18, and contractors began work on the site the next day, according to CanWest.

As of Thursday, fences can be seen surrounding the site of the new hangar and workers have cleared ground for the building’s foundation and can be seen putting grade beams on the site

“There’s no issue on our part or the contractor’s saying that we won’t have a hangar by April 1,” said Jake Fehr, CEO of CanWest over the phone, who says he is hoping the walls of the building will be up by January 25.

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CanWest was awarded a contract from the province to provide air ambulance service in Medicine Hat last year, replacing Integra Air. CanWest provides air ambulance service in multiple communities across the province, including Calgary and Edmonton.

In December, it selected a 1.09 acre site at the Medicine Hat Regional Airport to build its hangar.

Once the walls of the hangar are up, CanWest will be completing interior work in February, and also work on a taxiway to connect it to the airport’s runway. Fehr says the company hopes by the end of January or early into February, they can expose the land for the taxiway and put the gravel in.

The city’s lease agreement with CanWest will generate approximately $18,750 annually in rent payments in addition to fuel concession and landing fees over the next 10 years.

Integra Air will continue to run air ambulance service in Medicine Hat until March 31.