By TOM PETERS
July 20, 2010
Melford International Terminal (MIT) of Halifax has signed a shareholder agreement with Maher Terminals of Elizabeth, NJ, to provide services and operate a new container terminal planned for Melford, NS.
Maher owns and operates a 605-acre terminal at Port Elizabeth, NJ, one of the largest container terminal facilities in North America, as well as the Fairview Terminal at Prince Rupert.
Just how large a shareholder Maher will be in the US$350 million project was not revealed.
“That is not something we will divulge,” said Melford spokesman Richie Mann. “Suffice it to say Cyrus Capital continues to be the largest investor at US$10.5 million in the project and Maher will have part ownership and an opportunity to become a larger owner if certain conditions develop and they are met.”
MIT, a privately-owned Nova Scotia company, is developing a 315-acre container terminal, an intermodal on-dock rail facility and a 1,500-acre logistics park on the mainland side of the Strait of Canso. The new Maher Melford Terminal will feature deep water berths of 60 feet at mean low water, an ice-free 100-foot deep channel and no air draft restrictions. The terminal will enable the most direct and convenient service for intermodal trade between North America and emerging Asian markets through on-dock rail access to key markets throughout Canada and the U.S.
With Maher coming onboard, Mr. Mann feels this should help speed the terminal’s overall development.
“We have had that 2013 (operational) date out there for a little while and we are comfortable with that,” he said. “For the ultimate construction of the terminal and the opening, the biggest single factor is the completion of long-term financing. We are in that process and we are very satisfied with how that is going but this obviously enables us to be more aggressive in completing that whole process.”
John Buckley, president and CEO of Maher, said in a release that Maher is “excited to have the opportunity to work with MIT to develop what will be a comprehensive and highly efficient container gateway on a greenfield site on the east coast. Such opportunities are rare and the increased capacity and efficiencies realized from a modern terminal are substantial. With a presence on both the east and west coasts of North America, Maher will be well-positioned to offer customers a world-class quality service between North America and Asia.”
Maher Melford Terminal will connect to key interior North American markets through intermodal rail service provided by the shortline Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway, which connects to CN’s mainline in central Nova Scotia.
To attract business, Mr. Mann said that Melford and Maher will develop a marketing plan to best present the new terminal.
“We will look at all the shippers,” he said, “We will look at all the cargo owners and a number things. I’m sure Maher has no interest in taking any business that is currently going through New York and putting it through Melford. But they are certainly interested in incremental cargo − cargo they are not handling right now and could be attracted to Melford.
“They have done a pile of due diligence on this project,” he added. “It has been a long process in getting the agreements in place, but I think it is a testimony to the business case we have and the value proposition we have that they have come onboard.”
When phase one of the project is completed, the terminal will comprise two berths with initial projected capacity of 1.5 million TEUs per year.