Leduc County to be home to 'world's largest' legal marijuana grow op

A medical marijuana supplier says it has broken ground in Leduc County, south of Edmonton, on what will be the world's largest legal pot grow operation.

"Our objectives are very clear: to build the largest production capacity, with the highest production quality and the lowest production cost," Steve Dobler, president of Aurora Cannabis Inc., said in a news release.

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Aurora is building a 800,000-sq.-ft. production facility larger than 16 football fields on 30 acres of leased land in the county.

The company boasts "Aurora Sky" will be the largest, most advanced and most automated cannabis production facility in the world, capable of producing in excess of 100,000 kilograms of high quality marijuana per year.

Construction of the facility's pre-engineered structure is now underway in the Netherlands, the company said.

The company expectsthe greenhouse facility tobe completed by October 2017.

Auroracurrently operates a 55,200-sq.-ft. facility in Mountain View County, near Calgary, which it intends to expand.

"Our rate of growth, with rapidly increasing demand for Aurora's high-quality cannabis products, clearly justifies our expansion in both Mountain View County and Leduc County," said CEO Terry Booth.