The town of Lewisporte is continuing to express frustration and disappointment in an apparent lack of movement on an economic diversification strategy for the local wharf.

The economic impact to Lewisporte was immediate when the Labrador coastal freight service was moved out of town early last year.

A US-based company, Synergy World Power, is proposing to develop a facility in the area that would convert plastic waste to liquid fuel in a process known as “gasification.”

That proposal is going through the environmental assessment process according to Mayor Betty Clarke with promises of 200 jobs growing to 400-500.

The controversial proposal includes plans to heat greenhouses with the heat generated through the process.

Clarke says the town was asked to come up with an economic diversification strategy which was presented to government in March of last year, but no action has been taken.

They later learned that an engineering study was done showing $12 million dollars in repairs were needed to make the wharf functional.

Mayor Clarke says they had been seeking government help to bring the current wharf up to snuff, or get a marginal wharf. The town has been approached by companies seeking to use the wharf according to Clarke, but it cannot be used in its current state.