Maritime Link construction plans outlined for Cape Breton

The Maritime Link project'ssubsea cable,transmission line and distribution system between Cape Breton and Newfoundland are to be in place by 2017, senior officials told Cape Breton regional council on Tuesday.

Emera Newfoundland and Labrador President Rick Janega and his associate Ken Meade outlined the plans for council members and also at apublic meeting in Marion Bridge.

The process involves negotiating with landowners where the projectwill cross their property.

"It's a function of how much we need, how much of the land we're going to utilize,and market value," said Meade.

He said suchnegotiations with landowners generally run smoothly.

Emera will put in a 46-kilometre transmission line from Point Aconi to Woodbine, which is approximately 18 kilometres southwest of Sydney. A converter station will be built at Woodbineand a grounding line will be put through to Big Lorraine, near Louisbourg.

Tree cutting for the project is expected to start later this year.

The next public information session is scheduled to be held in Louisbourg on Wednesday afternoon.

The Maritime Link is a transmission system that includes 180-kilometre subsea cables that will deliver hydroelectric power from Cape Ray in Newfoundland to an area near Point Aconi in Cape Breton.

The $1.52-billion Maritime Link is just one component of the larger Muskrat Falls project worth $7.7 billion that includes building an 824-megawatt hydroelectric dam on the Lower Churchill River in Labrador and a 1,100-kilometre transmission link to the island of Newfoundland called the Labrador-Island Transmission Link.