THE Port of Quebec plans to be the container gateway to Canada and the US Midwest with the help of Hong Kong's global terminal operator Hutchison Ports and the Canadian National Railway.
The C$775 million (US$585.5 million) project aims to establish a container terminal at Quebec City with an annual capacity of 500,000 TEU, reports London's Loadstar.
On a 43-acre site, it will be able to handle vessels of more than 8,000 TEU, taking advantage of 52 feet of depth, which will make it the only container facility on the St Lawrence River capable of accommodating ships of this size.
The port, Hutchison Ports and CN are hoping for federal and provincial government will contribute to help cover the cost of the terminal.
Under the joint venture agreement, Hutchison Ports will build and operate the facility and the partners hope the terminal operator's reach - a network spanning 52 ports in 27 countries - can be leveraged to entice shipping lines to make the journey to Quebec.
The chief focus will be on trade with Asia, according to Hutchison Ports. 'Quebec City will become Hutchison Ports' gateway to the east coast of North America,' said managing director Eric Ip.
'As a fully intermodal deepwater port, its strategic location to reach the Midwest market and the strong support shown by the local authorities, the project has all the attributes to be successful,' he said.
However, Karl-Heinz Legler, general manager of Rutherford Global Logistics, noted that the Port of Quebec did handle box traffic in the 1970s, but subsequently concentrated on breakbulk cargo, while container carriers went further up the St Lawrence to Montreal, which has been the primary gateway for traffic from Europe heading through Canada to the US Midwest.
WORLD SHIPPING
The C$775 million (US$585.5 million) project aims to establish a container terminal at Quebec City with an annual capacity of 500,000 TEU, reports London's Loadstar.
On a 43-acre site, it will be able to handle vessels of more than 8,000 TEU, taking advantage of 52 feet of depth, which will make it the only container facility on the St Lawrence River capable of accommodating ships of this size.
The port, Hutchison Ports and CN are hoping for federal and provincial government will contribute to help cover the cost of the terminal.
Under the joint venture agreement, Hutchison Ports will build and operate the facility and the partners hope the terminal operator's reach - a network spanning 52 ports in 27 countries - can be leveraged to entice shipping lines to make the journey to Quebec.
The chief focus will be on trade with Asia, according to Hutchison Ports. 'Quebec City will become Hutchison Ports' gateway to the east coast of North America,' said managing director Eric Ip.
'As a fully intermodal deepwater port, its strategic location to reach the Midwest market and the strong support shown by the local authorities, the project has all the attributes to be successful,' he said.
However, Karl-Heinz Legler, general manager of Rutherford Global Logistics, noted that the Port of Quebec did handle box traffic in the 1970s, but subsequently concentrated on breakbulk cargo, while container carriers went further up the St Lawrence to Montreal, which has been the primary gateway for traffic from Europe heading through Canada to the US Midwest.
WORLD SHIPPING