HALIFAX, N.S. - Almost three years since it was closed, the former TrentonWorks railcar plant is on the verge of being resurrected by South Korean manufacturing giant Daewoo.
The company plans to build components for wind turbines at the sprawling seven-hectare factory in Trenton, Anna Sawinska, business development manager for Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd., confirmed in an interview with The Canadian Press.
Sawinska said talks were continuing with federal and provincial government officials but a final deal has not yet been signed.
Asked if the company plans to build turbine components at the plant, Sawinska replied: "There is a plan like that. We are still in conversation with the government, however, we are preparing something very soon."
She added that plans are being made to release details in Nova Scotia on March 5 once an agreement is reached.
Sawinska said Daewoo was aware of the impact a potential deal would have in Pictou County.
"We want to contribute to the development of the region, we are looking forward to that," she said from Seoul.
Three sources with knowledge of the announcement said it could ultimately mean hundreds of jobs at the former railcar plant, which was closed by Oregon-based Greenbrier Inc. in April 2007.
One source said the plant could manufacture rotor blades and support stands for wind turbines.
Wayne Fraser, director for the United Steelworkers of America locals in Atlantic Canada and Ontario, said it is accurate to say the number of jobs created at the plant will be in the hundreds, but he wouldn't discuss specifics.
Fraser said the union has met with Daewoo officials in South Korea and in Nova Scotia, and that a tentative collective agreement is in place.
However, he declined to elaborate on the details, saying only that "we are excited about this prospect."
"It's just that it's not completed yet," said Fraser. "Hopefully that's going to get done before this announcement on March 5th, which is contingent on the federal government and the provincial government meeting the requirements for Daewoo and vice versa."
No details about the sale of the plant or government involvement are known, although sources say there will be funding from the province and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
Officials have been looking for a buyer for the TrentonWorks facility since Greenbrier decided that it wasn't cost-efficient to keep the plant in operation.
On Monday, Defence Minister Peter MacKay, who is also the area's MP, told a forum hosted by the Pictou County Chamber of Commerce that talks were continuing with an "interested foreign company." He said he was confident an announcement would be made "soon, very soon."
The streets of Pictou County have been rife with speculation, said Trenton Mayor Glen MacKinnon.
He said he hadn't received confirmation on any final details, but it appears the efforts of the provincial and federal governments have paid off.
"Any development like this is great. It's going to mean for the town of Trenton new life, new activity and a chance for our young people to have a place to come back after they get their education to work and to live," said MacKinnon.
He said the town had taken a significant hit to its tax base over the last three years in particular and he was looking forward to that changing.
"I am very confident this company will do everything it can to be as successful as it can in Trenton and employ as many people as it can," said MacKinnon.
First opened in 1872, the plant had employed 1,200 people as recently as November 2005. Employment levels peaked above 2,000 in the 1980s.
In 2008, TrentonWorks filed for bankruptcy after former owner Greenbrier had placed it in receivership, saying it had contacted more than 200 potential buyers but couldn't attract bids.
Last summer the province wrote off $5 million given to the plant under the cabinet-administered Industrial Expansion Fund.