Montreal’s Viau Terminal set for second expansion

The project, which is scheduled to begin in September and be finished by December 2020, will nearly double the terminal’s current annual handling capacity to 600,000 TEUs.

   The Port of Montreal’s Viau Terminal will undergo its second construction phase beginning in September to nearly double its handling capacity to 600,000 TEUs, the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) and LOGISTEC Corporation announced Thursday.
   The project, which is scheduled to be finished by December 2020, will complete the container terminal, which currently handles about 350,000 containers annually, according to the MPA. The first phase was completed in 2016.
   Viau Terminal’s final phase will be funded by the federal government, MPA and LOGISTEC, which will invest C$30 million ($22.34 million) to the project through the terminal operator Termont Montreal. The work will include installing piles, railway works, dynamic soil compaction, underground infrastructure works, laying foundation and paving.
   The terminal will generate 2,500 direct and indirect jobs with C$340 million ($253.13 million) in economic benefits, according to the MPA’s press release.
   “We are pleased to be able to complete the Viau terminal project, a sign of the steady growth of the container market in Montreal, and to be able to count on the commitment of our valued partners who have been involved in this project from the start, the government of Canada and LOGISTEC,” said Sylvie Vachon, president and CEO of the MPA.
   The next step of the port authority’s development plan is the container terminal project at Contrecoeur. The project, which would make it possible to handle 1.14 million TEUs annually when completed and would raise the port’s total handling capacity to 2.1 million TEUs, would include two berths, a container handling area, an intermodal rail yard connected to the main network and a truck entry portal connected to the road network.
   Commissioning for the Contrecoeur project is scheduled for 2023 to 2024, the MPA said.