Glovertown shipbuilders celebrating ferry work

People inGlovertown, N.L.are celebrating a government announcement that six ferries will be built in the province.

"The fact that they're being built on the Island, that gives us great hope and great potential that there'll be a fair bit of work certainly done here at our yard," Ford Dowden,president of a ship building company called Glovertown Marine Ltd.

The announcement means an estimated $30-million worth of work for 100 people over two years to build vessels for ferry serviceson Newfoundland'ssouth coast and in southern Labrador.

Its work that many in the community feared would be done outside the province.

Last fall, Tom Marshall, the acting Transportation and Works Minister, said the province couldnt control where the work went.

"They're private contractors, theyre private business people who bid on a contract," said Marshall. "I can't tell them where to get their ferries built."

Back then, Dowden challenged the governments decision to tenderthe workin a way that madeit likely the vesselswould be built in the U.S.

Butafter the provincial budget was announced this week, Transportation and Works Minister Tom Hedderson said the problem would be solved by having the governmentown the ferries and contract their operationto private companies.

"As a government, we feel very strongly that we can build these boats here in Newfoundland and Labrador," said Hedderson.