$7.8M in upgrades coming for Eastern P.E.I. public buildings

The federal government is earmarking $6.3 million in COVID-19 recovery funds for major infrastructure upgrades in eastern P.E.I., with projects including the hospitals in Montague and Souris, a Montague school, and a highway depot.

The Prince Edward Island government is contributing another $1.5 million, for a total of $7.8 million.

Lawrence MacAulay, the MP for Cardigan as well as the minister of veterans affairs,made the announcement during a virtual news conference Thursday morning, with provincial Transportation and Infrastructure Minister James Aylward also in attendance.

"As vaccines roll out across the country and we start to look forward, it's vitally important that our communities have the safe and reliable public infrastructure they need in the years to come," MacAulay said.

Kings County Memorial Hospital will see a kitchen renovation, a heat exchanger replacement, renovations to the main lobbyand repairs to the exterior metal siding of the building.

Montague Consolidated School will get major repairs inside and outside, including the reconfiguration of the central level to accommodate extra offices and more teaching spaces with improved ventilation, a new roofand the replacement of exterior brick.

The Bridgetown Highway Depot will be expanded to include four bus repair bays, a new welding bay, a wash bay, an expanded administration spaceand an added parts and material storage space. The existing building will also get renovations to parts and administration areas, as well as improved lighting and increased storage.

Finally, the Sourishospital will get new flooring.

"Upgrading our public infrastructure creates jobs and improves the places people work at the same time," MacAulay said in a news release.

"These facility upgrades will help make sure staff, students and patients have access to the modern, efficient and safe infrastructure they need to provide quality services to the folks in eastern P.E.I."

The $6.3 million from the federal government comes from the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.

The COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure stream was added to the over $33-billion Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program to help fund pandemic-resilient infrastructure, according to the federal government.

"These renovations happening at KCMH, Souris Hospital, Montague Consolidated and the Bridgetown Depot will help reduce greenhouse gases, modernize these facilities, and improve efficiency and sustainability for years to come," Aylward said Thursday.

More from CBC P.E.I.