By Mark Edward Nero
Port Metro Vancouver says it will investigate design options
to expand its Centerm container terminal to help address an anticipated
shortfall in future container capacity.
Centerm, operated by Dubai-based marine terminal company DP
World, is one of three primary container terminals located within Port Metro
Vancouver, and handles about a fifth of the port’s annual container cargo.
In a May 16 statement regarding the matter, the port said
design options will be determined over the next year, and that it is committed
to a “fulsome consultative process with the community and other stakeholders”
prior to finalizing the design for Centerm expansion.
The project, to be built in cooperation with DP World, is
expected to cost at least $250 million, with construction proposed to begin in
late 2016.
Trade to and from Canada, especially with Asia, is growing. Forecasts
have shown that container traffic on Canada’s West Coast is expected to double
over the next 10 to 15 years. The port says that even with new capacity at its Deltaport
terminal and planned expansion in Prince Rupert, the ability to accommodate
more containers on the west coast of Canada still needs to increase by the
early 2020s.
As such, Port Metro Vancouver says it is actively pursuing
options to maximize existing infrastructure and develop new capacity.
