Port of Quebec to build new container terminal

The Canadian port will invest $400 million in a new container handling terminal along the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes Trade Corridor as part of Quebec’s Beauport 2020 investment project.    The Québec Port Authority (QPA) announced its plan to build a container terminal at the site of the Beauport 2020 project as part of a greater initiative by QPA to identify the best solutions for economic development in the area.
   The project is estimated to be a $400 million investment and will feature a 610-meter extension of the wharf line, the development of 17-hectare area behind the wharf and the terminal will link-up with existing rail and road networks, QPA said in a statement. The port utilized multiple technical and commercial studies to conclude that building a container terminal at the Beauport 2020 site would be the best way to leverage the space.
   The Port of Quebec features a water depth of 49 feet and full intermodality along the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes Trade Corridor, said port president and CEO Mario Girard in a speech to the Québec City Chamber of Commerce and Industry. A terminal also brings the potential for a new international economic hub geared toward logistics, distribution centers, and new businesses.
   “We’ve got a tremendous opportunity here and we have all we need to succeed. Our vision is simple and strategic: make Québec City a hub for maritime logistics on the continent. We’ll succeed by rallying around this promising project. And in this vein, I’m reaching out to all stakeholders in the St. Lawrence so we can all work together to promote the St. Lawrence. More than ever, we must join forces to make the St. Lawrence more competitive,” said Girard.
   Girard said that the opening of the new 15-meter-deep (49 feet) Panama Canal in 2016 and the emergence of next-generation ships requiring deep-water ports is completely changing the landscape of commercial shipping. This new 15-meter standard makes it harder for the St. Lawrence, as it currently stands, to compete with American ports in the container market.
   “Québec is a city whose history and development are closely tied to maritime economic activity,” said Québec City mayor Régis Labeaume in comments on Beauport 2020. “Developing the Port of Québec and improving the existing facilities are priorities for the region. Building a container terminal as part of the Beauport 2020 expansion project will have a major impact on the economy by creating a new continental deep-water logistics hub, which will be a major asset for the Port. The governments of Québec and Canada must offer their unmitigated support for the project so that Québec and Eastern Canada can compete with big U.S. ports and to make the Port of Québec Europe’s gateway to trade in North America.”
   The Québec Port Authority is an autonomous federal agency constituted under the Canada Maritime Act and generates over 8,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Québec City area according to recent studies. The Beauport 2020 project entails a five-year redevelopment of the Beauport area, requiring $190 million in investments, with roughly 70 percent coming from the private sector. The project aims to extend the wharf line, develop an area behind the wharf and rebuild and redesign the beach, among other rail, port and commercial service enhancements.
   QPA noted that additional private investment of $250 million to $400 million may be obtained for the development of additional facilities, such as for the terminal.