By TOM PETERS
May 4, 2009
The Port of Halifax will see more than $100 million invested in infrastructure upgrades thanks to shared funding through the Atlantic Gateway initiative.
Peter MacKay, federal minister responsible for the Atlantic Gateway, and Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald recently announced funding for several gateway projects including two at the port.
The South End Container Terminal, operated by Halterm Container Terminal Ltd., has been earmarked for $35 million in shared funding. The Halifax Port Authority said plans call for berth lengthening to accommodate two post-Panamax ships simultaneously, the completion of a dredging project alongside the berth taking the water depth to 16 metres, and changes to the truck gate and marshalling yard to improve traffic flows in and out of the terminal.
Halifax Port Authority president Karen Oldfield said the work has been under consideration for quite some time and that the new funding will accelerate the project.
The second port project to receive funding is for the expansion and improvements at Richmond Terminals, mainly a breakbulk and bulk cargo facility toward the port’s north end.
Ms. Oldfield said plans call for the berth to be extended, and land adjacent the terminal to be developed, creating an area of just under seven acres.
The project will include work to allow for roll-on/roll-off capability. Rails also will be installed, providing infrastructure for future cranes.
The total project will cost an estimated $73 million.
“There is so much potential there,” Ms. Oldfield said, noting the breakbulk and bulk cargo businesses, which are very important to the port, are often overshadowed by containers.
Companies involved in the province’s offshore oil and gas industry also have used Richmond Terminals.
The cost-sharing formula and the dates when the projects will begin have not yet been determined.
“On behalf of the Port of Halifax community, I express our thanks to the federal and provincial governments and in particular Minister Peter MacKay and Premier Rodney MacDonald for the commitment they have made to our regional transportation network,” Ms. Oldfield said. “The support of the Province of Nova Scotia and the Government of Canada is important as we move forward competing worldwide for cargo.”
In addition to the money for the port, there was announced funding for road work including highway upgrades to support the container terminal planned for Melford, on the Strait of Canso.