Cruise ship and pleasure craft visitors to Digby won’t have to worry about getting wet when they visit the Digby waterfront. Greg Kerr, Member of Parliament for West Nova, on behalf of the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), today announced funding of over $24,000 to build and install a new gangway that will give passengers a safe route to the floating docks already in place.
“This investment will make visiting Digby a little more efficient, and a little safer, for tourism operators and visitors,” said Mr. Kerr. “It’s a small project that will make a big difference in helping us promote this community as a regular stop for cruise ships and pleasure vessels in coming seasons.”
The structural aluminum stairway will be about fifty feet long and six feet wide, and will be moveable to accommodate rising and falling tides. Having this stairway in place will allow passengers to disembark safely and more quickly than via the old wooden stairs currently in place. In addition to ACOA’s support, the project will receive $12,500 from Digby Marine Developments Limited.
“People come to see the harbour and eat the scallops,” said Reg Hazelton, Chair of the Digby Harbour Port Association. “This stairway will help get them off their vessels safely to explore our community while they’re here.” ACOA’s investment is being made through the Innovative Communities Fund, which focuses on investments that lead to long-term employment and economic capacity building in rural communities.
FOR BROADCAST USE: West Nova MP Greg Kerr, on behalf of ACOA Minister Keith Ashfield, announced today an ACOA investment of nearly $25,000 in a new aluminum stairway to be installed in Digby Harbour. The new 50-foot stairway will allow passengers of cruise ships and pleasure vessels to disembark safely and more efficiently to explore the Town of Digby.
Chris Brooks
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
902-426-4790
Jeff Sunderland
Digby Harbour Port Association
902-245-1867
