Aerial footage shows the site of the proposed Folium Biosciences plant in Medicine Hat earlier this summer. (Screenshot from video shot by Justin Quinton for Folium Biosciences)

By Charles Lefebvre

Folium Biosciences

Council approves municipal assist for proposed Folium Biosciences plant

Sep 4, 2019 | 5:07 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Folium Biosciences has received an assist from the city before shovels go into the ground on their planned Medicine Hat facility.

During Tuesday night’s city council meeting, council unanimously voted to provide $533,743 in a municipal assist to help cover the cost of off-site levies for the site. Off-site levies include costs to expand water, sewer and road infrastructure in the area.

“The significant investment that Folium is making in building the facility is not small,” Said Ryan Jackson, the general manager of Folium Biosciences Canada. “Any assistance we can get from not having to pay more in the way of off-site levies is critical to our final decision on proceeding with the plant.”

The Colorado-based hemp company announced in January it planned to build a hemp extraction facility in Medicine Hat. The company has conditionally purchased land in Box Springs near the Aurora Cannabis facility.

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Jackson says the company is finalizing plans for the plant, and are expected to break ground this fall.

“We are just finalizing some details around the plant’s size, as it relates to the production, because we’ll be satisfying not just the Canadian market, but also international markets as well,” he said. “We’re just making sure that we don’t under build more than anything, and that we have the right footprint for the size of the building.”

The facility is expected to open by the end of 2020, and create 200 jobs in Medicine Hat.