By EVA HOARE Staff Reporter The Chronicle Herald A consortium of boat builders from Lunenburg County is getting ready to restore the famed Bluenose II. The province announced Wednesday that it has picked the Lunenburg Shipyard Alliance as the group that will do the work, which is slated to begin later this year. The consortium is made up of Covey Island Boatworks, Lunenburg Industrial Foundry and Engineering, and Snyder’s Shipyard Ltd. They will spend up to $14.4-million restoring the schooner, the province said in a release. The restoration, criticized by some as being too costly, is jointly funded by the province and Ottawa. The work must be finished by March 31, 2011. A request for proposals will be issued shortly that will form the basis of the contract with the consortium, the province said in the release. Covey Island Boatworks started constructing custom-built sailing vessels in 1979, while Lunenburg Industrial Foundry and Engineering is a leader in shipbuilding and repair, the province said. Snyder’s was involved in the restoration of the schooner Theresa E. Connor. A representative from Covey Island Boatworks said none of the consortium would do interviews on Wednesday and directed all calls to the province. No one from the province was available for comment Wednesday. But Tourism, Culture and Heritage Minister Percy Paris said in the news release this move "is another crucial step in securing the future of Bluenose II. He said, "The Lunenburg Shipyard Alliance brings together the experience and know-how of three world-class Nova Scotia companies, and ensures the investment to preserve this icon flow to the provincial economy." Meanwhile, there was no word as to when the Nova Scotia government might retrieve $600,000 from the trust that used to operate the sailing icon. The Bluenose II Preservation Trust lost the contract to operate the vessel in 2005 but the money in its account hasn’t been turned over to the new non-profit organization that now operates the schooner.