Big bucks for Port Saint John and NB Southern Railway to help increase supply chain efficiency for Canadian shippers.
Federal and provincial officials were on hand at the port Wednesday to announce nearly $60 million in combined funding.
Port Saint John will get $37.8 million from the two levels of government while NB Southern Railway will receive just over $21.1 million from Ottawa.
Federal transport minister Omar Alghabra said the investments will make the supply chain more efficient and increase the flow of goods in New Brunswick.
“It will also create good, well-paying jobs and create resilience in our infrastructure,” Alghabra said during the afternoon announcement.
Port Saint John will use its share of the money to increase cargo storage space at the west side terminal, enhance crane capacity, and add roll-on/roll-off capabilities for wheeled cargo.
Craig Estabooks, president and CEO of the port, said the enhancements are in addition to the $205-million modernization project currently underway to increase its container capacity.
“With the modernization project that’s in the last construction project, the new pier and the berth cut off two historic slipways that became closed containment cells,” Estabrooks told us following the announcement.
“Our plan over time was to slowly fill in that slip with rockfill and then eventually pave it over with acreage. But the private-sector demand and the use of the Port of Saint John is increasing, so we needed to push that project forward.”
Filling in that space and paving it over will create another 18 acres of space for DP World, which looks after container operations at the port.
That extra space is crucial for the Saint John port, which is now being served by three different container lines.
Nearly 87,000 containers moved through Port Saint John last year, and the modernization project will increase its capacity to 300,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).
Estabrooks said the latest improvements, combined with the current modernization project, will help “Canada’s fastest-growing port of the future” create a new capacity of 800,000 TEUs.
“We are all fortunate to work on this waterfront and it’s time to create more jobs and allow others to join in this prosperity,” he said.
NB Southern Railway, meanwhile, will use the money it received for rail terminal upgrades in Saint John and Sussex to help provide additional capacity.
The railway, a subsidiary of J.D. Irving, Ltd., will contribute the same amount, bringing the total investment to just over $42.3 million.
“The Port of Saint John and New Brunswick Southern Railway have been a critical part of New Brunswick’s economy for generations, and today’s announcement confirms the important and growing role they play in our province’s overall competitiveness,” said Jim Irving, co-CEO of J.D. Irving, Ltd.
“The investment announced today will allow the Atlantic region to increase Canadian imports and exports on a global scale, giving us an even stronger foundation to continue building on – from right here at home, in Saint John, New Brunswick.”
NB Southern Railway is a critical link between Port Saint John and Canadian Pacific’s (CP) rail network via the Central Maine & Quebec Railway, which CP acquired in 2020.
Keith Creel, president and CEO of CP, welcomed the additional investment announced by the federal and provincial governments.
“This strategic investment will help to improve the resiliency and competitiveness of Canada’s export-driven supply chains, and, combined with the increased competition generated by our return, help to transform Port Saint John into a truly global, premier trade gateway,” said Creel.
I’m at Port Saint John this afternoon for a federal funding announcement. Saint John-Rothesay MP Wayne Long calls it the “largest investment” in this riding since he was elected. pic.twitter.com/ONfVFQwjgf
— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) May 25, 2022
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