b'SEPTEMBER 2025CANADA PORTS 29(FUTUREcontinued from page 28)will add 1.15 million containers per year by slated start of operations in 2030 to an existing capacity of 2.1 million TEUs. Due to the delays, inflation and other factors, the total estimated cost has ballooned north of $1.5 billion.Up till now, overall committed government funding sitsunderC$600million.Thefederalgovernmenthas pledged $150 million under the National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF). The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) has offered up to $300 million in long-term loans. And the Quebec provincial government has pledged a total of $130 million. The total financing involvement of the Montreal Port Authority remains to be determined, but a substantial amount is evidently in the cards. The overall financing package involving DP World and potentially more federal government participation also remains to be detailed. Several weeks ago, the MPA submitted its noticeAerial view of PSA Halifax Atlantic Hub terminalof intent to begin preliminary construction work for the Contrecur expansion as early as September 29, 2025,ized cargo development and exploring opportunities forin and out of our harbour.pending receipt of the final required approvals. breakbulk and on the sustainable development of ourReferring to the completion of the West Side Mod-This step allows us to meet the conditions requiredcruise business. ernization project, they stated: In the face of a global to move forward with a project that positions Quebec andpandemic, we chose to forge ahead with a transforma-Canada more strongly to diversify international trade,P orts aintJ ohn tional infrastructure project aimed at growing our con-said Julie Gascon, President and CEO of the MPA. OnceAt the Port of Saint John, 2024 was highlighted bytainer sector.all the necessary approvals are in place, well be ready toa solid increase in cargo volume while 2025 has alreadyThe new cold storage facility, to become the sixth oper-begin work on this major strategic project that is essentialfeatured the ground-breaking of a major investmentthatated by Americold in Canada, is conceived to leverage the to the future of our supply chains. of Americold Realty Trust in its first import-export hub tomaritime logistics capabilities of DP World and the rail logis-Meanwhile, last year saw the Port of Montreal staybe built in Canada. tics solutions of Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC).the course in a complex environment, handling 1.5 mil- Total cargo at the Bay of Fundy port increased toDeveloping this facility at Port Saint John marks an lion TEUs and 35.4 million metric tons of total cargo, a29.6 million tons in 2024 from 27.9 million tons in 2023,important step forward for Americold, said Rob Cham-slight increase of 0.2% over the previous year. with liquid bulk accounting for 27 million tons and drybers, President, Americas at Americold. The infrastruc-This stability, in an environment marked by labourbulk for 1.3 million tons. Containerized cargo continuedture investments by DP World and CPKC alongside Port disputes and geopolitical tensions, demonstrates the resil- its brisk growthtotalling 184,879 TEUs versus 153,000Saint John have attracted major global shipping lines to ience of the ports supply chain and the strength of itsTEUs in 2023. this location, and we are excited that our world-class cold diversification,assertsPaulBird,ChiefCommercialCraig Bell Estabrook, President and CEO, and Boardstoragefacilityandvalue-addedserviceswillsupport Officer. And with 2025 already well underway, severalChair Jack Keir, have underlined the importance of shift- food flows between Central and Eastern Canada, Europe, trends were confirming the need for the Port of Montrealing the ports focus to diversify the commodities comingSouth America and APAC.to develop new capacities in the container sector.Thetradebalancein2024tiltedslightlytoward imports, which accounted for 54% of volumes, compared to 46% for exports. Despite this, we remain the mostH W Y H 2 O . C O Mbalanced container port in North America, with one of the highest economic impacts per tonne handled on the continent,Bird said.Internationally, Bird noted, Northern Europe has con-firmeditself as the ports leading partner, accounting for 36% oftotal volume (+4% vs. 2023). Asia continues to be a key partner, accounting for more than 25% of traffic, while the Mediterranean has declined by 6%, accounting for 22%. The Middle East (8%), Latin America (5%) and Africa (4%) complete the global picture, which remains, despiteeverything,highlightedbyIndia-theleading single partner country.Thus far in 2025, a positive trend was in progresswith container volumes up nearly 7% in the first seven months. P ort ofh alifaxFor the deepwater Port of Halifax, final cargo perfor-mance in 2024 showed a steady pattern amid a challeng-ing global political environment. Total port-wide volume amounted to 9.6 million tonnes versus 9.8 million metric tons in 2023.On the container front, the PSA Halifax Atlantic Hub terminal and Fairview Cove Terminal handled 509,000 TEUs compared to 546,000 TEUs in 2023. Top exports included consumer products, wood pulp and paper, and forest products. Leading imports were clothing, machin-ery and steel products. Non-containerized cargo such as agriproducts and offshore wind components represent a growing business sector.Connecting to more than 150 countries, the ports leading trading lanes are Asia (41%), Europe (34%) and Latin America and the Caribbean (14%). S H I P A N D S A V E W I T H O U RHalifax is a key international trade gateway to inlandG A T E W A Y I N C E N T I V Emarkets in Quebec, Ontario and US Midwest. We are a customer-centric, trusted partner, recently commentedP R O G R A M .Fulvio Fracassi, who last fall succeeded Capt. Alan Gray as President and CEO of the Halifax Port Authority/ S T A R T S H I P P I N G O N T H EIn 2024, we had 42 vessels larger than 10,000 TEU make 117 calls, showing Halifaxs strength as a deep- G R E A T L A K E S W I T H H W Y H Owater port able to berth the largest container vessels on2the Eastern Seaboard, he noted, adding: The global geopolitical situation continued to have an impact on Halifaxs containerized cargo, reflected in reduced vol-umes during Q1-Q3. In Q4, diverted cargo from other ports and the general shipping peak season resulted in strongervolumes.Overall,containerizedcargowas down 6.8% from 2023. Looking ahead to 2025, Fracassi said the Port of Halifax will be focused on continuing efforts to support our partners to ensure we are a competitive, innovative,VISIT OUR BOOTH AT BREAKBULK AMERICASfluid and reliable component of the national supply chain. Projects such as the Integrated Rail Solution, the devel- BOOTH #G02opment of a Data Integration Hub and others will assist these efforts. 1-905-641-0309 | [email protected] the HPAs annual report, Fracassi and Chair David Cameron underlined a focus on supporting container-'