Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced in 2007 the creation of a deep-sea naval port at the former Nanisivik mine site and an army training centre in Resolute. (CBC)

A British Columbia engineering firm has been awarded a $900,000 defence contract to help design a Canadian Forces naval port in the High Arctic.

WorleyParsons Westmar Ltd. of North Vancouver, B.C., won the contract for the first of a four-phase design project for the naval refueling facility, to be based at the former Nanisivik lead and zinc mine site near Arctic Bay, Nunavut.

The first phase covers construction requirements and preliminary design work that will set up the remaining design phases, the Defence Department stated in a news release Thursday.

The other three phases will include creating plans and designs and preparing construction estimates for the port.

The Nanisivk facility has been in the works since 2007, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced plans to convert the mine site into a naval refueling facility.

Building of the port, along with an army training facility in Resolute Bay, were considered part of the federal government's bid to assert Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic.

Both sites are located near the eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage.

Construction could begin on the Nanisvik port as early as 2011. Defence officials say it is expected to be operational by 2014.