After more than a decade of regulatory process, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority successfully obtained Canadian federal government approval to build a container terminal in British Columbia Delta using a two-stage approach.

It aims over the next two years to select a contractor to build the C $more than 3 billion (2.25 billion US) Roberts Bank Terminal 2 (RBT2) landfill section and over a decade to select a terminal operator to build and operate the facility.

The selection of operators before the two-phase start of landfill work highlights the importance of building large container terminals on marine recycling land, overcoming strong opposition from environmental groups and local communities, Canada's largest terminal operator GCT and more recently Canada's ILWU.

The last pier in North America built entirely on a landfill was the 484-acre APM Terminal in Los Angeles in the 1990 s. This approval not only advances one of Canada's most important trade infrastructure projects to date, but also enhances the resilience of Canada's supply chain and provides generations of economic benefits to Canadians and Canadian businesses. "

Vancouver Fraser Port Authority President and CEO Robin Silvester said that the Port Authority plans to select contractors in 2024-25 to build landfills and terminals, and expects to select terminal operators between 2030 and 2032 to complete the construction of above-ground infrastructure, and then equip, finance and operate RBT2.

A marine engineer said that RBT2's cost will be able to handle 20000 TEUs and increase Vancouver's annual throughput capacity by nearly 4%, but the construction cost of pre-epidemic conceived port-related infrastructure projects has increased significantly, and its cost may be doubled from the original estimate.

"As a Canadian port authority, we have to be financially self-sufficient," the Vancouver Port Authority said. "Projects like the Roberts Bank Terminal Two are funded by the Port Authority and private investment, and the Port Authority recoups its investment by paying rent through the new passenger terminal for a predetermined period of time."

Vancouver's capacity to reach maximum in a decade

, like most North American ports, Vancouver has seen a decline in freight traffic so far this year due to macroeconomic and trade conditions. According to port statistics, the total volume of loaded and empty containers fell by 15.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, with imports falling by 15.8 per cent and exports by 14.8 per cent.

rail container stays at the port have increased since last fall, from 3.9 days in September to a peak of 8.9 days in January. According to the port's website, the number of residential days in February and the first week of March remained at a 6.6-day high.

Terminal operators say keeping rail containers at the terminal to four days or less is key to maintaining liquidity.

But land-constrained Vancouver is expected to reach capacity around 2028, so before RBT2 opens, Canada's largest port could experience congestion.

Silvester said the port "took a double whammy" in the first quarter because of the overall decline in trans-Pacific freight traffic, and the congestion problems that began at the rail hubs of Toronto and Montreal ". Canadian Railways has tried to ease congestion at inland hubs by diverting incoming fully loaded containers to nearby yards.

inland hub has also experienced a shortage of empty containers and is unable to reload Canadian exports because sea containers are transhipped along the coast, so sea carriers can quickly ship empty shipments back to Asia to refill high-paying Asian exports destined for North America. Silvester expect that rail and marine terminal operators should be able to restore liquidity during the summer and autumn shipping season.

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