Deltaport’s 3rd berth officially opens

- The new $400m third berth at Deltaport, Port Metro Vancouver, the largest container terminal in Canada, has been officially opened after two years under construction.

Handling approximately 45% of containerised cargo moving through Canada’s west coast, and more than half of that through Port Metro Vancouver, the new facility will increase Deltaport’s capacity from 1.2m teus to 1.8m teus.

Construction of the new berth began in January 2007 and was completed in December last year, with ongoing expansion in direct response to the growing needs of Canadian industry and consumer demand.

Developed in an environmentally sustainable manner, with more than $25m spent on habitat compensation and long-term monitoring of the local ecosystem, the shared $400m infrastructure investment was completed on-budget and on-time by Port Metro Vancouver and the operator, Global Container Terminals.

“Over the next ten years, container traffic through the west coast is expected to double,” said Robin Silvester, President and CEO, Port Metro Vancouver. “The new berth at Deltaport is part of a long-term plan to strengthen Canada’s Pacific Gateway and ensure our ability to accommodate the growth in container trade, in particular with Pacific Rim economies like China.”

Container imports through Deltaport typically carry consumer goods such as food, electronics, furniture and clothing; whereas exports generally consist of Canadian resources such as lumber, pulp, specialty grain products and Canadian manufactured products.

(Source: Container Management)