In about a year from now, Winnipeg will have a new facility that no other western provinces have: a 3,000-square-foot vehicle-testing lab that can get as cold as -40 C and as hot as 50 C.

The climatic chamber, as it's called, also includes a 1,000 horsepower, three-axle, dynamometer something similar to a treadmill, on the floor to allow vehicles to make turns and run as if they were outside.

On Friday, Manitoba's Education and Training Minister Ian Wishart, Liberal MP Robert Falcon-Ouellette and Paul Vogt, president and CEO of Red River College, announced $6 million in joint federal-provincial funding to build the second phase of an existing lab.

The federal government is announced $3 million and both the college and the province are chipping in $1.5 million to convert an existing facility into the climatic chamber.

Once completed, the $10 million lab will be large enough to test transit buses and fire engines in a range of temperatures, an important feature for Manitoba, which is home to a number of heavy-duty vehicle companies, said Ray Hoemsen, executive director of research partnerships and innovation for Red River College.

The industry produces about $2 billion in sales and 6,500 jobs in Manitoba, said Hoemsen, and includes companies such as New Flyer Motor Coach and Fort Garry Fire Trucks.

Red River College has been working with the industry for about 10 years, Hoemsen said.

"So we have a fairly strong track record," he said.

Students who use the new lab can work on industry projects and receive training, he said.

Local vehicle manufacturers have already asked for 60 to 70 testing days to use the new equipment, he said.

"Currently they would have to go to other parts of Canada or the U.S. for that testing," said Hoemsen.

"We'll be a unique facility in Western Canada."

Manufacturers design their vehicles on a year-round basis, said Hoemsen.

"Sometimes the seasons just don't line up properly, so you might have to do winter testing when it's summertime outside," he said.

Red River College's new climatic chamber will begin operating in January 2018.