Port of Redwood City, Cemex re-up with 10-year deal

The Northern California port and construction materials importer Cemex have agreed on another 10-year lease of a marine terminal at the Port of Redwood City.    The Port of Redwood City and Cemex Aggregates (Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC) have inked a new 10-year lease on 8.2 acres of marine terminal, the Northern California port said in a statement.
   The deal allows Cemex Aggregates to relocate a new and/or upgraded hopper and enclosed conveyor system to the port’s new Wharves 1 & 2 by June 30, 2018, and includes an option to extend the lease for another decade.
   Cemex imports construction materials from Canada, which drives down the costs of construction projects in Redwood City and Silicon Valley, according to the port. In Redwood City alone, more than 1,600 new housing units are under construction with another 1,300 approved or in the process of being approved. Commercial development in Redwood City is on the rise as well, with 1,158,000 square feet of commercial space under construction or recently completed, said the port.
   “The high quality of the sand and gravel aggregates from British Columbia combined with the dwindling supply of these materials in Northern California because quarries are unable to expand have triggered and sustained a strong demand that the port benefited from,” said Port of Redwood City Executive Director Michael J. Giari.
   Over the past three years Cemex has imported nearly four million metric tons of building materials via ships operated by Canadian Steamship Lines that contain self-unloading features. Eagle Rock Aggregates on the northeast coast of Vancouver Island, BC, is the primary supplier of sand and gravel to Cemex, according to the port.