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A $25 million provincial Port of Prince Rupert project investment will enhance exporters' competitiveness and opportunities in international trade, the NDP government said Jan. 14.
The funding is to support work by the Prince Rupert Port Authority to expand export logistics infrastructure at Ridley Island.
The project aims to enhance the port's capacity for loading B.C. and western Canadian natural resource products for containerized export by sea to international markets.
The government said the work would increase the port's export transloading capacity from 75,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to over 400,000 TEUs annually.
The work includes new and updated rail tracks and dedicated roadways to and from the Fairview Container Terminal and will feature new offloading and storage facilities plus related large-scale equipment.
"Our investment in the Port of Prince Rupert will help create new good paying jobs in our region, while improving western trade corridors and helping Canadian importers and exporters get goods to market," North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice said.
Rice said the funding would help the port build back stronger from the hit of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project is expected to provide substantive economic benefits, including supporting regional businesses and creating 200 jobs in transloading, plus an additional 2,000 jobs in areas such as warehousing, longshore work and trucking.
Cargo capacity at the Port of Prince Rupert is planned to double by 2040 under a land use plan released in October.
The plan puts annual capacity at 1.35 million TEUs.
The new project is funded through a mix of public and private investment, including a $49.8 million federal contribution through the National Trade Corridors Fund and a $25 million provincial contribution as part of StrongerBC, B.C.'s Economic Recovery Plan.
jhainsworth@glaciermedia.ca
@jhainswo
