Alaska's state-owned economic development and finance corporation is committing another $50 million to the controversial Ambler Road project. On Oct. 22, the board of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority unanimously voted to make the money available to support the 211-mile project, which would connect the Dalton Highway to an undeveloped mining region near the Brooks Range.
The Biden administration nearly killed the project in 2024 by denying right-of-way permits for the project through federal land.
AIDEA filed an appeal in June. The Trump administration approved the permits earlier this month. Supporters of the project say that it will bring revenue to the state, hundreds of jobs to the region and boost national security with what AIDEA called "critical minerals" and "a domestic supply of rare earth elements."
"We now have our right-of-way and all federal permits," said Randy Ruaro, executive director at AIDEA. "We're proceeding forward as fast as we can to get some fieldwork done and other geotech work, and look forward to eventually building that project and unlocking resources for Alaskans."
According to AIDEA's resolution, the $50 million would be used for "expenses and liabilities, including, but not limited to, payment for permitting, construction, legal costs and other expenses."
In public comments to the board before the vote, no one spoke in support of the resolution. Four people spoke against it.
One testifier, Maddie Hollaran, noted that 88 tribal governments in Alaska and Canada oppose the project. She said the project would not benefit all Alaskans, and that the money could be better spent.
"It's an amount of money that could make a huge difference spent on other development projects inside the state that would provide more jobs for Alaskans and better outcomes for us," Hollaran said. "This $50 million belongs to us, the people of Alaska, and I'm hopeful we can find some other ways to spend something that large."
She's also concerned about rising construction cost estimates. Over a decade ago, AIDEA estimated that the project would cost about $1 million per mile, or $211 million.
Its latest estimate is $350 million, though other estimates are much higher. In the BLM's 2024 decision document on the permitting, the bureau estimated the preferred route would cost $672 million.
It's not the first time AIDEA has funded the Ambler Road project. In 2020, AIDEA's board set aside $35 million for the project, despite public opposition. In May, AIDEA tried to get the Alaska Legislature to raise its debt capacity by $300 million for "unspecified mining projects." The House Finance Committee rejected it.
AIDEA says it hopes to begin geotech work in the region this winter.
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