VICTORIA: The port has submitted an environmental impact statement for a new three-berth container terminal in Delta, British Columbia. The terminal at Robert Banks, where the port already supports a twin-terminal superport facility, will have the capacity for 2.4 million TEUs.
The project will involve the development of land and construction of a deep-sea marine terminal adjacent to existing Roberts Bank terminals, the widening of the existing causeway there and the expansion of the Roberts Bank tug basin.
Subject to environmental permits and approvals and a final investment decision, construction could begin in 2018 and would take approximately 5 ½ years to complete, the port said.
Port Metro Vancouver currently has four container terminals. But, by its own estimates, those facilities will not be able “to meet forecast demand for trade of goods in containers.” The port last year handled 83 percent of the total TEUs transited through Canada’s west coast ports.
The port expects container volume to expand roughly 4 percent this year after increasing 3.1 percent in 2014 to a record 2.9 million TEUs. And 2014 volumes would have been even stronger if a drayage strike and shorter berthing windows for exports didn’t hamper business, port President and CEO Robin Silvester told JOC.com in February.
To continue handling expected volume growth, along with a potential increase in U.S.-bound cargo over the long-term, Silvester said the port plans to add 3 million TEUs of annual capacity to its existing 3.5 million-TEU capacity over the next 15 years. The Robert Banks Terminal 2 project, he said, is an integral part of that commitment.
“The region is running out of room to manage growing Canadian trade with Asia,” Silvester said in a statement.
By 2030, container traffic through Canada’s Pacific gateways is forecast to double to approximately 7 million TEUs. Some of that traffic will be handled farther north at the Port of Prince Rupert, which saw traffic surge 12 percent in 2014 and is pursuing a $200 million terminal expansion of its own.
“Port Metro Vancouver has worked with existing terminal operators to identify opportunities for delivering additional capacity to meet near-term increases in demand,” the port authority explained in a “project rationale” report.
According to the port, outside of other improvements that have already been identified and implemented, the new terminal is “the only technically and financially feasible option” to meet long-term container traffic projections through 2030 and beyond.
“The Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project will ensure demand can be met while providing important economic benefits to [British Columbia] and Canada,” Silvester said.
No price tag has been attached to the project, but the port has promised taxpayers’ dollars will have no part in its construction. Terminal construction is to be funded via port and private funds.
The project’s environmental impact statement now awaits a formal assessment from an independent panel before proceeding to the next phase of development.
