CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN ON PRINCE RUPERT CONTAINER TERMINAL
PRINCE RUPERT, British Columbia --The Prince Rupert Port Authority announced today that the Environmental Review for the conversion of the Fairview Terminal into an ultra-modern high capacity container-handling facility has been approved by the Government of Canada. This was an important milestone and the Port Authority will now proceed with terminal construction. A joint venture partnership of Fraser River Pile & Dredge and Western Industrial Contractors has been selected to complete the wharf construction, which is the first contract relating to the terminal development.
The marine portion of the Fairview Terminal conversion consists of extending the current dock face out into deep water through the construction of a new berth that will eventually be 400 metres long. This new wharf will extend 20 metres into the channel to a minimum water depth of 17 metres sufficient to accommodate the next generation of super post-panamax ships. The new wharf and upgrades to the existing substructure will support the installation of 3 super post-panamax container cranes. This construction of the terminal, including substructure upgrades and the wharf extension, is estimated to cost $110 million. The wharf contract represents roughly one-third of the construction budget.
Western Industrial Contractors of Prince George, B.C., will carry out the concrete and civil work of the marine portion of the project. The company will construct both the new deck and the structure to carry the new rails for three large container cranes to be installed at the terminal. Vancouver-based Fraser River Pile & Dredge Ltd. (FRPD) will complete the pile driving and related marine work.
“We are very pleased to be in a position to proceed and see construction commence on the new terminal,â€
The story in philmc’s post is, I believe, a press release from the Port Corp. There is a story in today’s Snooze that says the talks with First Nations had begun in some areas but not in others. Gary Reece, Chief Councilor for Lax Kw’Alaams, said they plan to call for a meeting with the new Conservative gov’t shortly and, until then, will be taking no actions to stop the project.
Yeah I believe that press release was simply to tell everyone that they have the official go ahead to start now that the environmental approval is there. Since they have no control over what the native leadership will do they simply have to go ahead with it and wait to see if they indeed file for thier injunction.
Maher Terminals has ordered three giant container cranes for its new operations at the Port of Prince Rupert in British Columbia.
The so-called ultra-post panamax cranes, manufactured by Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery in China, will be capable of handling some of the world’s largest cargo ships. In maritime jargon, “post panamax” is used to describe ships too large to travel through the Panama Canal.
The cranes are expected to arrive in Prince Rupert in September, according to Frans van Riemsdyk, a senior vice president of sales and marketing for Maher Terminals.
Each of the cranes will be capable of lifting 65 tons and reaching as far as 205 feet from the dock to transfer containers on and off huge cargo ships. They will be the tallest structures in Prince Rupert, standing nearly 400 feet high.
Maher Terminals of Canada Corp., an arm of Berkeley Heights-based Maher Terminals, will manage and operate the Port of Prince Rupert’s first container terminal.