Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, announced a major investment of $102 million for five projects that will increase efficiency at the Port of Vancouver and move Canadian goods to international markets.
The projects are:
- $42.7 million to consolidate the operations of the Annacis Auto Terminal and the Richmond Terminal to accommodate the growing Asian automobile market and improve rail operations in the area;
- $12.2 million to improve road and rail traffic operations and develop new rail-serviced bulk export marine terminals within the Fraser Surrey Port Lands;
- $39.4 million to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion in the Portside/Blundell corridor in Richmond;
- $1.6 million to explore ways to handle increased trade volumes by evaluating the viability of short sea shipping in Greater Vancouver; and
- $6 million to develop a real-time dashboard for the Ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert to measure end-to-end performance of the supply chain for all cargo moving through both ports.
These investments are expected to have economic and employment benefits for the region by creating an estimated 2320 jobs in the region during construction. They will allow the Port of Vancouver to remain competitive now and in the future.
“Our government is investing $12.2 million to improve road and rail traffic operations and develop new rail-serviced bulk export marine terminals within the Fraser Surrey Port Lands,” said Randeep Sarai, MP for Surrey Centre. “These much needed road upgrades and rail crossings, along with Port Vehicle Access Control System gates, four queuing lanes, and an electronic queue management system will help reduce congestion, increase efficiency and make our streets safer. This is great for Surrey.”
The Government of Canada is supporting infrastructure projects that contribute most to Canada’s success in international trade. Trade diversification is a key component of the National Trade Corridors Fund, funding projects that will improve the fluidity and performance of the transportation system to increase the value and volume of goods exported from Canada to overseas markets and generate new overseas trade as a result of the investment.
