Canada’s Prince Rupert Port to Boost Container Handling Capacity

VANCOUVER, March 10 (Reuters) – Maher Terminals Holding Corp stated on Tuesday it might increase container-handling capability by greater than half on the Port of Prince Rupert below an enlargement of its container terminal on the northern British Columbia port.

The Fairview Container terminal can be expanded to greater than 1.3 million 20-foot equal models (TEUs) per yr, up from its present capability of some 850,000 TEUs. Construction is about to start out in April and is predicted to wrap up by mid-2017.

The C$200 million ($157.9 million) enlargement undertaking will embody a second deep-water berth, 4 extra cranes and land reclamation work to increase the present container yard. Rail loading capability on the port may also be boosted.

Canadian National Railway Company, which operates the one rail line on the northern port, individually stated it’s going to proceed to put money into capability enhancements on the route from Prince Rupert to key U.S. markets like Chicago and Memphis.

Roughly 60 % to 70 % of container imports on the port are destined for cross-border markets, whereas container exports are dominated by Canadian shipments of wooden and grain merchandise.

Container dealing with capability on the Port of Prince Rupert has risen steadily because the terminal opened seven years in the past. The port has benefited in current months from a lift in shipments rerouted from the U.S. West Coast attributable to labor unrest there.

Maher Terminals is owned by Deutsche Bank Ag. ($1 = 1.2665 Canadian {dollars}) (Reporting by Julie Gordon; Editing by Alan Crosby)