Novia Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality today launched a marketing campaign to promote the strategic advantages of developing a container shipping port terminal in Sydney harbor, Cargonews Asia reports.
The announcement comes after the Canadian city recently agreed to purchase approximately 500 acres of greenfield waterfront land for the purpose of building a container terminal that will create jobs and lasting economic benefit for the community of Cape Breton.
"For the people and the economy of our region, we are launching this effort with the full support of our community to develop the greenfield site as the future location of an international container terminal," said Cape Breton Regional Municipality mayor John Morgan.
The regional municipality, second largest in Nova Scotia, will explore the potential of entering a long-term concession agreement with an interested terminal operator, the port said in a statement.
The greenfield site being acquired sits on the edge of a newly dredged channel into the Port of Sydney that can accommodate without any restriction the world's largest container vessels.
Dredging was completed in January this year with local and federal funding. Dredge spoils have been used to create a 150-acre expansion of the greenfield site directly adjacent to the Port of Sydney channel.
The Port of Sydney is North America's easternmost harbour and closest to the Suez Canal. It sits just six miles from the sea buoy marking the Great Circle Route (GCR) from Europe and the Mediterranean, offering considerable strategic advantages for ocean carriers, the port statement said.
The Port of Sydney also offers unrestricted double-stack rail access to major inland cargo clusters in the US Midwest along with the potential for network feeder services along the U.S. East Coast.
Furthermore, a container terminal development in Sydney offers the most compelling competitive economics in North America, including the lowest cost to build per TEU and the lowest ongoing operating expenses per TEU.
All permits have been received for construction and are fully assignable. Labour agreements are in progress with the International Longshoremen's Association, AFL-CIO, (ILA) to ensure Sydney's competitive advantages are realised.
"The potential for job creation and long-term economic growth is critical to the future of Cape Breton," mayor Morgan said.
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