Governments investing $50M in biomanufacturing centre for P.E.I.
CBC
The P.E.I. and federal governments came together Friday morning to announce a new addition to Charlottetown's BioCommons Research Park.
A new facility called the BioAccelerator will include space for research, manufacturing and training. The governments are putting up $50 million for its construction, which they say is the largest single investment in economic development infrastructure in P.E.I. history.
"Attracting more leading bioscience companies to Atlantic Canada is a key opportunity to grow and strengthen the bioscience cluster in our region," Ginette Petitpas Taylor, the federal minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, said in a news release.
"This will bring new high-skilled jobs, opportunities for advanced training, and the development of innovative new ideas and cutting-edge research."
The news release did not say how much of the $50 million was coming from Ottawa and how much from the province.
Tenants in the BioAccelerator will include early-stage companies, small and medium-size enterprises from Atlantic Canada, across Canada and international locations. It will provide facilities for research, new product development and process development, and will act as a manufacturing incubator.
BioAccelerator will also house the national headquarters of CASTL, the Canadian Alliance for Skills and Training in Life Sciences.
The facility measuring 7,000 square metres (or 75,000 square feet) is expected to be open for business in the fall of 2025.
The bioscience sector on P.E.I. has quadrupled in size since 2012, the news release said, and now includes more than 65 companies with total sales revenues in the $600-million range. It is one of the top three industry contributors to the provincial economy.
The sector is aiming for $1 billion in revenue by 2030.