PORT OF WINDSOR FEATURE
June 28, 2010
The Port of Windsor is optimistic about future growth and expansion for the rest of this year. Chairman Charles Pingle told the Windsor Port Authority annual general meeting that port stakeholders are the key to the port’s success.
“Stone, construction aggregates and salt shipments continue to be the major commodities shipped through the port,” Mr. Pingle said. Six major terminals across the city – operated by Lafarge Canada, Southwestern Sales, Coco Aggregates, Dunn Paving, Essroc and CBM – handle construction aggregates, giving Windsor access to high-grade and well-priced product from around the Great Lakes.
“The City of Windsor is poised for a significant construction boom with numerous major infrastructure projects either already commenced or scheduled to start within the next year,” Mr. Pingle said. “This is very good news for our local stone terminals, and we are projecting that the next five years should meet and potentially surpass the records established in the late 1990s.
“In addition, Canadian Salt operates the Windsor salt mine and ships between 1.5 million and 2.5 million tonnes annually through its Ojibway dock. With significant underground reserves still available, we are forecasting that salt will continue to be one of the major commodities handled within the port for the foreseeable future.”
Another key element to the port is “the successful partnership between McAsphalt Industries and the Windsor Port Authority that has been ongoing for almost 20 years,” Mr. Pingle said. McAsphalt operates and handles petroleum products for ship refuelling as well as liquid asphalt for the local construction industry at the Sterling Marine Fuels dock, which is owned by the Windsor Port Authority. McAsphalt has continued to upgrade and expand its facilities. It recently completed construction of two new asphalt tanks, which has more than doubled its liquid asphalt handling capacity.
“This expansion will be critical over the next several years to allow us to meet the increased demand for high-quality asphalt products generated by the major infrastructure projects scheduled for our region,” Mr. Pingle said. “In addition, we anticipate that within the next few weeks we will be making an announcement about a major new expansion project that will support future development and generate new jobs for our community.”
The port authority continues to be a strong advocate for marine issues affecting the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system. It is one of the founding members of the Ontario Marine Transportation Forum, which brings together both public and private marine interests to inform the Province of Ontario about the advantages of marine transportation.
The OMTF has realized tangible results in the past few years, with the Province of Ontario becoming much more engaged in issues that affect the marine industry, including working towards the removal of tariffs on imported vessels, infrastructure renewal, and the promotion of the advantages of short-sea shipping.
The port authority continued its commitment to the environment in 2009 through its involvement as a founding sponsor of Green Marine, a marine industry environmental partnership. The organization’s objective is to develop a focused course of action to address environmental issues of concern to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system. Windsor was among the first ports in Canada to receive the second level of certification under the program last year.
Speaking to the strengths of the port, Mr. Pingle said, “The Port of Windsor is clearly open for business. The balance sheet remains strong, we have no debt, and we have available reserves for port development of almost $6 million. There is waterfront land available and the port is in a very strong position to bring in new development.
“The Port of Windsor will continue to play a strong role in the reinvention, diversification and resurgence of our local economy by working closely with the city and our private sector partners.”