Canada Invests CAD 18.6 Million To Improve Supply Chain Fluidity

The Canadian government is allocating funds to a rail park in the Winnipeg, Manitoba, metro area and the Port of Nanaimo (British Columbia). to work in an effort to increase supply chain fluidity.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced on March 15 that up to C$18 million will be invested in a 665-acre rail park project at CentrePort Canada, a 20,000-acre inland port in Rosser Rural Municipality. The rail park will offer access to road and rail, as well as Winnipeg’s James Armstrong Richardson International Airport. Financing will help cover the costs of a second trunk switch; several kilometers of additional road; an elevator station; and links to access roads.

In 2022, the Manitoba government and CentrePoint Canada selected Focus Equities Inc. as the developer of the rail park, which will be served by BNSF, Canadian Pacific (CP) and CN.

According to Transport Canada, which provides investment under the National Trade Corridors Fund, “Railway parking will improve the movement of goods between different modes of transport, for example, rail to truck or air to rail.” “This will reduce truck trips and transit, relieve congestion on inter-provincial highways, thereby reducing pollution.”

“Adjacent to Richardson International Airport, strategically located rail park in central Canada, the United States, up to Mexico and Churchill and for provincial, Canadian and US supply chains, Canadian Pacific Railroad-Kansas City’ takes advantage of. Southern merger,” Focus Equities Inc. Developer and Owner Kenneth W. Mariash Sr. said. “Federal government investment will improve supply chain efficiency, increasing interconnectivity in North America.”

Also on March 15, Transport Minister Alghabra announced that up to C$600,000 under the National Trade Corridors Fund will be provided for the Nanaimo Port Authority to review the expansion of container handling capacity; development of land near the port to support economic growth, job creation and trade; and an assessment of potential improvements to shipping cargo by sea over short distances between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.

For example, the study will identify the possibility of expanding the Duke Point Terminal on Vancouver Island to help alleviate bottlenecks at Vancouver’s deepwater terminals, according to Transport Canada. It will also look at the feasibility of upgrading the terminal’s infrastructure, “providing better connectivity for transferring cargo from barges on the mainland to wagons.” The Pacific region could see an increase in import/export capacity of goods from the forestry and agriculture sectors, as well as seafood and other food sectors, the agency reported.

“Canadian exporters rely on a strong supply chain, especially at hubs like the Port of Nanaimo,” said Alghabra. “As we announced today, investments [March 15]It will facilitate the movement of goods in the port, help the Pacific region economy grow, and create good jobs for Canadians.”

“The Port of Nanaimo recognizes the National Trade Corridors Funding award for examining how the additional expansion of the Duke Point Terminal, combined with upland land development, can provide new import/export opportunities for Vancouver Island communities and increase resilience and capacity for the wider Pacific Region supply chain network. ,” said Ian Marr, Chairman and CEO of Nanaimo Port Authority.