OTTAWA: The government of Canada and the Montreal Port Authority have announced the completion and inauguration of a major container terminal in the Viau sector of the Port of Montreal.
Marc Garneau, minister of transport, and Sylvie Vachon, president and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority, were on hand for the ceremony Nov. 18.
The new container terminal will boost the Port of Montreal’s handling capacity by 450,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent unit). The new terminal, together with the work done previously and a second phase of future projects, will bring the total handling capacity in the Viau sector to 600,000 TEUs, states a government of Canada release. The total value of all phases of the project is $197 million.
The construction of the new terminal is part of a broader port capacity optimization project which will cover three areas: the terminal’s container-handling capacity, marine access and road access, said the Port of Montreal. Partners in the project include Termont Montreal Inc. and Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. Termont operates
The government of Canada is contributing a third of the eligible funding for all three project components to a maximum of $43,666,667 under the National Infrastructure Component of the New Building Canada Fund through Infrastructure Canada. Of this amount, up to $27.2 million is available to fund the new container terminal. The remainder of the funding will go to the project’s other two components.
Other contributors to the whole project are Termont, which will be spending $74 million, and the port authority, slated to contribute $80.9 million. Termont is the terminal operator.
“The new Viau terminal will have a considerable impact,” said Vachon in a statement. “Ultimately, it will increase the Port of Montreal’s handling capacity by 2.1-million TEUs and generate significant benefits for the region, province and country as whole with annual spinoffs of $340 million and the creation of 2,500 direct and indirect jobs.”
The Viau terminal can accommodate post-Panamax container ships, the largest vessel class that can be welcomed at the Port of Montreal, and is home to transshipment, container handling and container storage operations.
In 2013 preparatory work began that included the redevelopment of Viau land and of the Maisonneuve Terminal, including soil remediation.
The project included installation of two gantry cranes, the tallest at the Port of Montreal at 95.5 metres; development of two berths measuring 330 metres; the addition of an intermodal zone and truck access routes; construction of a multiservice building including garage space, administrative offices and a room for longshore workers; and redevelopment of railway services and road access.
