Premier Christy Clark celebrated on Friday the grand opening of the Kitwanga sawmill, one of the only forest production facilities operating in the northwest.
"After more than two years of inactivity, it's great to see the Kitwanga sawmill back in business, providing much-needed jobs for families in the northwest," said Clark.
The sawmill is owned by Prince George-based Pacific BioEnergy, which plans to eventually open up a wood pellet mill adjacent to the sawmill.
The sawmill start-up in northwest B.C. is significant because it will be only the second manufacturing facility to operate in a vast area west of Smithers following a series of mill closures in the past decade.
There are no large operating sawmills in the area, and West Fraser's linerboard plan in Kitimat, which employed more than 500 people, was shut down last year.
The Kitwanga sawmill, purchased by Pacific BioEnergy in 2009 out of receivership, will employ 45 people on a one-shift basis. The only other operating mill in the area is a small venture producing railway ties.
