Melford International Terminal (MIT) has signed an agreement with Maher Terminals in which Maher will become a shareholder in and provide services for a new container terminal to be located near Melford, Nova Scotia in Canada, to be called Maher Melford Terminal (MMT). Maher Terminals, headquartered in New Jersey, operates container terminals in Prince Rupert, British Columbia as well as Port Elizabeth, New Jersey.
MIT, a privately-owned Nova Scotia company, is developing a 315 acre (127 ha) container terminal, an intermodal on-dock rail facility and a 1,500 acre (607 ha) logistics park on the mainland side of the Strait of Canso in Nova Scotia. The new Maher Melford Terminal will feature deep water berths of 60 feet (18.3 m) at mean low water, an ice-free 100 foot (30.5 m) deep channel and no air draft restrictions.
MIT President Paul Martin said, “We could not have a better partner than Maher to establish the Maher Melford Terminal as a strategic gateway for cargo moving between Asia and North America. Maher’s most recent experience in container terminal development at its Fairview Terminal in Prince Rupert which opened in 2007 provides an invaluable benefit for the development and commercialisation of MMT.”
MMT will connect to key interior North American markets through intermodal rail services provided by Canadian National (CN), which serves Nova Scotia via its East Coast mainline. The route is fully cleared to provide a double stack service.
When phase one of the project is completed, the US$$350m terminal will comprise two berths with initial projected annual of capacity of 1.5m teu. Commercial operations are scheduled to commence by 2013 or as required by market demand.
(Source:www.container-mag.com)