On Jan. 11, the Port of Prince Rupert released a study projecting that when fully realized, its development plan could generate almost 5,000 new jobs in northern British Columbia directly related to port activity.
Using a model derived from project proposals and land use plans, the forecast quantifies the potential growth of the port’s economic impact through 2025 and beyond. The model makes assumptions for capital investments, average employment levels and wages.
The full buildout of the Port of Prince Rupert’s planned infrastructure and terminals is predicted potentially to generate incremental economic impacts, including:
- An increase of 4,780 full-time equivalent jobs directly related to port activity.
- $310 million annually in additional wages.
- $59 million annually in additional local municipal taxes for the City of Prince Rupert and the District of Port Edward.
- $400 million annually in additional Gross Domestic Product for Canada.
In addition to the economic benefits of planned infrastructure and terminals, construction could provide as many as 26,000 person-years of employment, $1.7 billion in wages and more than $2 billion in GDP, according to the study.
The Port of Prince Rupert’s development plan promotes the port’s growth into a diversified and sustainable global trade gateway in a manner that would minimize operations congestion, limit community conflict with industrial land use, and mitigate marine and environmental impacts.
Current and proposed developments on port lands at Fairview Container Terminal, the Ridley Island Industrial Site and Lelu Island have the potential to create an integrated platform for shipping with the capacity to transport over 100 million tons of cargo annually, according to the port.
“The vision of Prince Rupert as a leading North American trade gateway builds on our strengths and our track record,” said Don Krusel, President & CEO of the Port of Prince Rupert. “The question is, can we achieve it? We believe we can.”
