The Global Transportation Hub (GTH) and the City of Regina have signed a municipal servicing agreement designed to reimburse the City for capital costs associated with providing water and wastewater services, as well as road infrastructure to support the GTH.

The agreement was agreed to in principal last December and will see the GTH pay 6.5 percent of the annual property tax collected from GTH tenants to the City as operating funding. This currently amounts to approximately $120,000 annually, a number that will grow as new tenants arrive at the GTH.

The servicing agreement will be in place through 2040 and it is expected to contribute an estimated $15 million in capital compensation for the City over that period. Retroactive to the opening of the GTH in 2009, the agreement also includes a $3.4 million lump sum payment for the current impact on City infrastructure. This initial disbursement will be made in the current fiscal year while the remainder will be paid out as development occurs at the GTH.

Formalizing the financial relationship provides GTH tenants (and prospective tenants) with assurance they will have access to safe, reliable water, wastewater collection and road infrastructure provided by the City of Regina, as well as certainty around the costs of those services over the next 20 to 25 years. These are priority areas as the GTH explores new avenues for growth, including the potential for increased value-added agricultural processing that requires a secure, safe water supply and stable roads for transport once beyond the GTH’s boundaries.

Negotiating the agreement required a mutually beneficial approach that aligned with the terms of The Global Transportation Hub Authority Act, which states the GTH will compensate the City of Regina on a cost-recovery basis, while recognizing the City’s requirement that “growth pay for growth.”

Ultimately, the intent is to generate new opportunities to support economic and job growth in the region and the province.