As part of its efforts to support jobs and economic growth, the Government of Canada announced a major investment of $102 million for five projects aimed to increase efficiency at the Port of Vancouver and move Canadian goods to international markets.
The projects are:
- $42.7 million to consolidate the operations of the Annacis Auto Terminal and the Richmond Terminal to accommodate the growing Asian automobile market and improve rail operations in the area.
- $12.2 million to improve road and rail traffic operations and develop new rail-serviced bulk export marine terminals within the Fraser Surrey Port Lands.
- $39.4 million to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion in the Portside/Blundell corridor in Richmond.
- $1.6 million to explore ways to handle increased trade volumes by evaluating the viability of short sea shipping in Greater Vancouver.
- $6 million to develop a real-time dashboard for the Ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert to measure end-to-end performance of the supply chain for all cargo moving through both ports.
These investments are expected to have important economic and employment benefits for the region by creating an estimated 2,320 jobs in the region during construction, while they will allow the Port of Vancouver to remain competitive.
Trade diversification is a key component of the National Trade Corridors Fund, funding projects that improve performance of the transportation system and generate new overseas trade.
We are supporting projects to efficiently move goods to market and people to their destinations, stimulate economic growth, create quality middle-class jobs, and ensure that Canada’s transportation networks remain competitive and efficient,
…said Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport.
With respect to volumes, the Port of Vancouver is Canada’s largest port and the third largest in North America, handling 147.1 million tonnes of cargo in 2018.
Cruise industry is also developed in the port, with Vancouver Fraser Port Authority celebrating the arrival of the 25 millionth cruise passenger in May.
