Port, city, community lose ‘tremendous opportunity’
By CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS
February 4, 2010
Last summer, Irving Oil canned its big plans for a second refinery in Saint John. Then, on Feb. 2, the groundhog must have seen a long shadow when the company announced it was halting its elaborate ‘World Headquarters’ on a large port terminal.
The project was touted as a spectacular revitalization of the port when it was announced in 2008. Although considerable engineering and environmental investments were made on both Irving developments, the combined news hit Saint John more as a psychological blow of ‘what could have been’ rather than ‘what was lost’ economically.
“We’re not proceeding with this project,” confirmed company spokesman Daniel Goodwin on Feb. 3. “It’s a stop, not a postponement.”
He said Fort Reliance Co. Ltd., Irving Oil Limited’s parent company, is now “focusing on its core business” instead of building a $30-million complex, even though 300 steel girders were pounded into the pier last fall. The Saint John Port Authority had allowed construction under a special agreement, before the final terms of the transaction were complete.
“All opportunities have certain windows. The economic landscape has changed and the window on this project has unfortunately closed,” said Blaine Higgs of Fort Reliance.
The Saint Port Authority would have gained long-term revenue from the land use. After years of planning, the federal government was eager to move forward on the project, subject to Fort Reliance and the City of Saint John reaching an arrangement on the former Lantic Sugar site at the port. The city would also have profited up to $2 million per year.
Al Soppitt, president and CEO of the Saint John Port Authority, said closing the deal was imminent, and he estimated the project could have started within a year had the city and Irving been able to reach a deal on the old sugar refinery site. “We had the full support of Transport Canada officials,” he said, having spent considerable time negotiating the deal in Saint John and Ottawa. “We have lost a tremendous opportunity for the port, for the city and for the community.
“Long Wharf will continue to be a secondary cruise ship terminal but this project would have been unprecedented and propelled the city’s skyline into the future.”
Aside from providing a second fully-developed cruise ship terminal at no cost to the port, the project was to include a four-storey building, green spaces, a revitalized Fort LaTour heritage site and walking paths to connect 1,000 corporate workers with the uptown.
Cruise still a strong focus
“Although this was going to be huge for the port, our priority continues be the cruise business, which generates the second highest income at the port after potash cargo,” Capt. Soppitt said. The port is expecting another record cruise season this year and should reach a milestone of more than 200,000 passengers.
Stephen Campbell, chairman of the Saint John Port Authority, who proudly opened the new Marco Polo Cruise Terminal last year, said the setback would “not diminish our resolve in transforming the port to meet the competitive challenges of today’s marketplace.”
International Longshoremen’s Association Local 273 strongly opposed the Long Wharf project from day one, arguing that the project should have gone to public tender. The ILA protested the idea that the marine terminal would be turned over to activities no longer requiring salt and limestone handling, which occurred at Long Wharf for many years.
Former longshoreman and current MLA Abel Leblanc stated in 2008 that “the Irvings would be better off on Partridge Island,” referring to the outer-harbour island famous as an 1860s quarantine station. “I think it’s a great thing for the city of Saint John that that wharf is back intact,” Mr. LeBlanc said when the project went flat.
Pat Riley, business agent for Local 273, has no ill will over the project but “believed from the outset that the deal was imprudent and not in the best interests of taxpayers.”
Last November, New Democratic Party MP Yvon Godin also asked the private-public partnership to halt construction until the project received full federal approval.
Other investments on the horizon
Meanwhile, Fort Reliance is continuing a long history of cultural and infrastructure investments in the area including funding of the Imperial Theatre in Saint John and opening Canada’s first LNG terminal last fall. In fact, Fort Reliance just launched a new company, Portage Energy Ltd., in January. Portage is aimed at forming a regional transmission system in Eastern Canada to foster collaboration, lower energy costs, lay the foundation for a smart grid, and boost overall economic development.
At the port, Long Wharf land remains open for cruise and commercial development, and the Hardman Group is expected to finally develop the Canadian Coast Guard site on the east side of the port, which is estimated at $75 million but could take a decade to complete.
“The important thing for people to know is that Saint John is still open for business,” said Saint John city councillor Gary Sullivan.