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Reid, who was elected to the RM’s top job in late 2015 and previously expressed concerns about delays, said Monday that the sprawling wholesale mall — which Brightenview hoped would attract Asian businesses — is no longer part of the region’s plan.

“If, in fact, Brightenview was to go ahead, great; if not, it’s certainly not something the RM is banking on,” he said, noting that 109 per cent population growth in the region during the last five years. has created other economic opportunities.

In an interview last week, Brightenview CEO Joe Zhou said while the company does not have a firm timeline for the project, it continues to develop infrastructure and address the project’s other “business requirements.”

Reached by email Monday, Zhou said the company is updating its website and removed references to the International Exhibition Centre in preparation for a new project-specific website that is under development.

Reid told The Saskatoon StarPhoenix in August that there had been “no development whatsoever” on the land south of Saskatoon, and confirmed last week that nothing has been done. He said he had not heard from Zhou in months.

The International Exhibition Centre is not the only Brightenview project to experience significant delays. The company proposed building a $45 million “Global Development Centre” in Chatham-Kent, Ontario in 2014, but that project is also stalled.

A local politician told The StarPhoenix late last year that the Ontario project was “dead in pretty much everybody’s eyes” after Brightenview’s deadline to buy the property expired and another firm bought some of the land earmarked for the project.

Zhou said last week while its Ontatio project was “not the right fit,” Brightenview is committed to building at the GTH. He declined to say how many businesses have agreed to set up shop near Regina, but noted it has received “tremendous interest.”

amacpherson@postmedia.com

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