CONTAINER SPACE

The push to expand Prince Rupert port capacity

Officials say the first stage of Fairview Terminal’s latest Phase 2B expansion is on schedule for completion this summer • SUBMITTED

CHUCK CHIANG

The Port of Prince Rupert – currently expanding its existing container terminal to make it the second-largest in Canada – is now looking at building another such facility that would more than double the port’s overall container capacity.

The Prince Rupert Port Authority and operator DP World Canada Inc. announced earlier this year that they have signed a two-year agreement “to assess the feasibility of an innovative new container terminal project in Prince Rupert.”

The new container terminal – which would be completely separate from the existing Fairview Terminal operated by DP World Canada – could add as much as two million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of annual capacity to Prince Rupert.

Officials say such a move would greatly boost Canada’s trade capacity within the Asia-Pacific region, particularly as the country’s top port – the Port of Vancouver – faces increasing challenges with congestion.

DP World Canada CEO and general manager Maksim Mihic said in a statement that the move shows that his company is committed and confident that Prince Rupert can support a second container terminal facility. “Our vision for this proposed project will ensure the Canadian trade and supply chain landscapes are future-proofed,” Mihic said in the statement. “The feasibility studies will employ a pragmatic approach, exploring the use of advanced technologies and ideas to position the new terminal as an industry leader within Canada and the world.”

Earlier this year, officials said the first stage of Fairview Terminal’s latest Phase 2B expansion – which would eventually push the facility’s capacity to 1.8 million TEUs when the whole project is completed in 2024 – is on schedule for completion this summer. That first stage of the Phase 2B expansion will push the annual capacity at Fairview to 1.6 million TEUs, from 1.35 million TEUs.

Though Prince Rupert saw a surprising 23% drop in cargo movements in 2021 versus 2020, officials remain bullish, as the infrastructure issues near Vancouver – such as the rail and road washouts late last year due to flooding – have brought renewed attention and interest in the northern trade corridor as a backup or alternative for access to the Pacific.

Prince Rupert Port Authority president and CEO Shaun Stevenson says that the new terminal – which is part of the port’s master plan published in 2019 – would be located to the south of Fairview and would add to the port’s status as Canada’s third-largest port, behind only Vancouver and Montreal. “A second container terminal will help consumers, exporters and industries across the country while continuing to contribute significant economic benefit for local communities, the broader region and our Indigenous partners,” Stevenson said in a statement. Meanwhile, the Port of Vancouver continues to push its massive but controversial Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project for its own container capacity expansion. Ottawa put the project’s environmental approval process on ice for about a year after strong local opposition pushed the federal government to ask the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority to address questions raised by opponents in the previous panel reviews. The most recent public comment period was extended and ended mid-March.

Late last year, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority offered an updated Terminal 2 application, although opponents – which include environmentalists, First Nations communities, local residents and GCT Global Container Terminals (the operator of the existing Deltaport terminal at Roberts Bank) – have remained unconvinced about the project’s scale, cost and environmental impact.

Maksim Mihic is CEO and general manager of DP World Canada, which operates the Port of Prince Rupert’s existing Fairview Terminal • SUBMITTED

OUR VISION FOR THIS PROPOSED PROJECT WILL ENSURE THE CANADIAN TRADE AND SUPPLY CHAIN LANDSCAPES ARE FUTURE-PROOFED Maksim Mihic CEO and general manager DP World Canada