Intermodal Briefs: Ports of Montreal; Oswego, N.Y.; Virginia
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
The Contrecoeur container terminal project, located about 25 miles from Montreal, would allow MPA to handle up to 1.15 million containers (20-foot equivalent units or TEUs) annually
The government of Canada is investing up to C$150 million (US$109.5 million) in the Port of Montréal’s Contrecœur, Quebéc, container terminal project. Also, the Port of Oswego Authority (N.Y.) is seeking a $5 million grant for a railicar mover and rail service upgrade at its Fitzgibbons Intermodal Terminal; and Port of Virginia® names its 2023 Shipper of the Year.
Port of Montréal
Transport Canada on Oct. 10 reported that it will invest up to C$150 million in a new Contrecoeur, Québec, container terminal for the Montréal Port Authority (MPA). The award is through the National Trade Corridors Fund, a competitive, merit-based program that the government said is “designed to help infrastructure owners and users invest in the critical transportation assets that support economic activity in Canada.”
The new terminal is slated to handle up to 1.15 million containers (20-foot equivalent units or TEUs), boosting container capacity by 55% at the Port of Montréal, which is served by CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City. The project will include:
- A 675-meter-long (738-yard-long) dock, including the approach area for ships.
- A rail network connecting to the existing CN tracks, including a railway transfer point and freight transfer hub.
- Road access to connect the terminal to the public network.
- A container handling yard.
- Operations and administrative buildings.
Once completed, the terminal is expected to increase the annual value of imports and exports handled at the port, generating up to C$140 million (US$102.2 million) per year across the country, according to Transport Canada.
The new funding will enable MPA to implement a hybrid delivery model. MPA said on Oct. 10 that it will be taking over some of the responsibilities for carrying out the project and is canceling the current call for tenders. Marine works will now be entirely carried out by MPA, which will serve as prime contractor for dock construction and dredging work. Project planning will use a Design-Build approach with a specialized firm assisting MPA for the next nine to 12 months. MPA said it will then assign the project works according to its procurement processes.
According to MPA, land site works and operations will be carried out with a private partner. MPA said it will issue a Request for Proposals in early 2024 to select a private partner to build the terminal, including the container yard, buildings, facilities and rail connection. This private partner will also operate and maintain the terminal under a DBFOM (Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain) approach, MPA said. The water-based project works are excluded.
MPA reported that it has canceled the DBFOM procurement process launched in November 2021, which included both the terminal’s construction work (marine and land site) and its operation. The new hybrid model, it said, “is better suited to today’s reality.” Discussions with the bidders “did not lead to a result deemed satisfactory by the MPA after factoring in market trends, including interest rates and inflation, between the time the Request for Qualifications began in 2021 to today,” according to MPA.
Commenting on the Transport Canada funding award, Minister of Transport and Quebec Lieutenant Pablo Rodriguez said: “The Port of Montréal is an economic driver for the province of Québec and Montréal, and a key element of our national supply chain. By supporting the port in its expansion project in Contrecœur, we continue our efforts to strengthen Canada’s supply chain. This is important so that we never again have to go through product shortages like we experienced during the pandemic, or the significant price increases that came along with them.”
“I would like to thank the federal government for its invaluable financial support to our large expansion project in Contrecoeur, a structuring investment for the economic resilience of the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes corridor which will be beneficial for all of Canada,” said Geneviève Deschamps, interim MPA President and CEO, who added that the “new procurement process put forward will enable us to control risks, project works and costs more effectively in the current context.”
Port of Oswego Authority (POA)
POA has applied for a $5 million grant under New York’s Passenger and Freight Rail Assistance Program for a railicar mover ($2 million) and a rail service upgrade at its Fitzgibbons Intermodal Terminal ($3 million), according to an Oct. 10 Oswego Country Today report.
The railcar mover from Shuttlewagon will replace an older diesel version and is “part of the port’s commitment to make our operations more environmentally friendly to our community, using clean technology with zero carbon dioxide emissions, and it follows Governor Hochul’s goals for greener New York industries,” POA Executive Director and CEO William Scriber told the news outlet. “It’s capable of handling a minimum of six railcars and we’ll also install two charging stations for it. Plus, there’s the added benefit of reducing maintenance costs and truck traffic.”
The rail grant would cover building a fifth storage track to boost railcar storage capacity, track rehabilitation along the existing east dock warehouse, and construction of a concrete railcar unloading pit for agricultural products, according to Oswego Country Today.
“Construction of the fifth storage track will consist of two new switches and 750 feet of new track, which will allow the port to store an additional 12 railcars,” Scriber told the news outlet. “This will more than double our capacity for railcar movement and make us the largest operating rail yard in the central New York region. It will support a wide range of applications, everything from aluminum to huge transformers, to grain and construction materials.”
According to Oswego Country Today, the project is driven by increased grain export volumes and inbound rail shipments as well as the “anticipated needs of Micron Technology’s nearby $100 billion semiconductor plant” that will break ground in 2024.
“The bottom line is that the port is continuing its mission to generate positive economic activity in our region,” Scriber told the news outlet. “At the same time, we continue to expand our role as a major force in developing both the upstate and Great Lakes economy. We do this by supporting our local commercial businesses, while serving the needs of huge, growing international customers like The Andersons of Maumee, Ohio, one of the world’s largest grain exporters.”
The Port of Virginia
Lowe’s, one of the largest users of The Port of Virginia®, has earned the port’s 2023 Shipper of the Year award, which recognizes “an exceptional shipper that works with the port to make it better for all users.”
The award was presented Oct. 5 at the Virginia Maritime Association International Trade Symposium.
“Lowe’s imports a growing number of products for its retail locations through The Port of Virginia,” said Thomas D. Capozzi, Chief Sales and Marketing officer for Virginia International Terminals LLC, the port’s private operating company. “Not only is Lowe’s an import customer for the port, it is also a significant corporate citizen in Hampton Roads. We’re working with the Lowe’s team to help it grow its cargo volumes through the port and leverage our assets and operating model to better ensure predictability and stability in the company’s supply chain.”
According to the port, Lowe’s in October 2022 announced plans to develop the 1.5 million-square-foot import distribution center in the Virginia Port Logistics Park in Suffolk, Va.
