CALGARY -- One of the investors buying a stake in the Coastal GasLink pipeline says it remains committed to the deal despite protester blockades that have shut down railway lines in some parts of Canada.

Alberta Investment Management Corp., which looks after more than $115 billion in public sector pension funds for the province, agreed with American partner KKR in December to buy a 65 per cent interest in a deal that's expected to close in the first half of this year.

Developer TC Energy Corp. is to remain the operator of the $6.6-billion pipeline with a 35 per cent interest.

AIMCo spokesman Denes Nemeth says the corporation has confidence in TC Energy's ability to deal with the current situation and ensure the successful build out of the project.

The 670-kilometre pipeline from northeastern B.C. to Kitimat on the West Coast is intended to deliver natural gas to the $40-billion LNG Canada export project that's under construction there.

Protesters say they are supporting Wet'suwet'in hereditary chiefs who oppose the pipeline running through their territory in B.C.

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