PORT HAWKESBURY, N.S. – The mayor of a Cape Breton town has formally complained to the Prime Minister's Office about a proposal to fund an airport that would service a major golf resort on the island's west coast.

A proposal from the Cabot Links golf resort is asking federal and provincial governments to help create an airport that would bring golfers closer to their location.

Premier Stephen McNeil has said the provincial and federal governments are prepared to consider funding the Inverness County airport as a joint infrastructure project.

Specific figures haven't been provided, and the resort's manager did not return a call requesting comment on details.

However, the Town of Port Hawkesbury has said the nearby Allan J. MacEachen airport would lose vital business if the project came to fruition.

Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on June 12 expressing "grave concern" about the project, and says the PMO acknowledged receipt.

Chisholm-Beaton says having an airport constructed just an hour's drive away from the existing one near Port Hawkesbury would damage that facility's viability, as much of its business comes from wealthy golfers flying into the area.