Montreal Port Authority’s Contrecoeur Terminal that is being developed for increasing container traffic 

The Port of Montreal, the second largest port in Canada (next to Vancouver) and the fifth largest port on the east coast of North America (New York, New York; Newark, New Jersey; Norfolk, Virginia and  Savannah, Georgia), is viewed as one of the major ideal gateways to North America. The Port of Montreal serves as the main Canadian gateway for Ontario and Quebec’s trade with other continents. Containerized trade between Ontario and the rest of the world represents 30% of the containers handled in the Port of Montreal. Geography is also a factor with respect to Montreal’s importance as a port as many container ships cannot travel west of Montreal because of the St. Lawrence River’s narrowing channel and lower water depths.
The Montreal Port Authority (MPA), an autonomous federal agency created under the Canada Marine Act, provides facilities to sea and land carriers, to terminal operators and shippers and  builds and maintains infrastructure that it leases to private stevedoring companies. The MPA  operates a passenger terminal and its own railway network, which includes more than 100 kilometres of track and provides transcontinental railways with direct access to almost every berth.
In December, the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), a Canadian federal government agency,   committed to $300 million in financing to the Port of Montreal for a new container terminal at Contrecoeur. MPA’s financial situation has also improved because Transport Canada, the federal transportation department, recently approved an increase in MPA’s  borrowing authority.
Due diligence work to be performed during the next few months includes planning and pre-procurement activities for the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of the terminal. Although MPA owns the land on which the terminal will be located, the estimated cost of the new terminal will still be between $750 and $950 million.

Asian container trade has risen from 3% to 25% of the total annual container trade since 2008
At the annual Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships conference in November in Toronto, Montreal Port Authority Vice President, Ryan Dermody, indicated that MPA is now awaiting various permits and expects federal environmental approval for the new container terminal early next year. Construction is expected to begin in 2021 and operations at the new terminal will start in 2023 or 2024.

Most of the world’s largest shipping container companies are clients of the Montreal Port Authority
Many of the world’s largest shipping companies such as Denmark’s Maersk, MSC (Mediterranean  Shipping Company), Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd, France’s CMA CGM Shipping Line and Hamburg Sud are clients of the MPA. A seventh shipping line, China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), joined the ranks of these international shipping companies last spring. It is hoped that with the addition of the new shipping terminal at Contrecoeur, other major shipping lines will be encouraged to become clients.
The Contrecoeur Terminal, when completed, will have a capacity of 1.15 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit which can be used to measure a ship’s cargo carrying capacity. The dimensions of one TEU are equal to that of a standard 20 foot shipping container which is 20 feet long and 8 feet tall.), two berths and an intermodal yard and railway yard.

Montreal Port Authority Vice President Ryan Dermody at the CCPPP Conference in Toronto in November
The Contrecoeur Terminal appears to have all the characteristics of a successful container terminal including a well-developed logistics system (rail lines and roads), existing territory with no back filling required, social acceptability and space on the same site for further expansion. The development of the Contrecoeur terminal will enable the Port of Montreal to maintain its status as one of the largest shipping ports in North America.
Authored by Beverly Brooks, 416 546 2336, brooks.communications@rogers.com.