Construction on the Centerm Expansion Project at the Port of Vancouver is now complete, as the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority continues to partner with industry and government to deliver the sustainable infrastructure needed to support growing trade and stronger national supply chains, according to the company's release.
The expansion project—delivered in partnership with terminal operator DP World—focused on innovative ways to make best use of the limited trade-enabling industrial land available and allow Centerm to handle 60% more containers by increasing the terminal footprint by 15%. Work completed includes expanding the terminal footprint to the west and east, reconfiguring and expanding the container yard, building state-of-art truck gates, expanding the intermodal yard, building a new operations facility, and marine habitat improvements.
While construction of the terminal improvements is complete, work is ongoing to optimize operations to deliver the full capacity increase at Centerm. The full capacity gains are expected to be realized later this year, increasing the terminal’s container handling capacity by two-thirds from 900,000 20-foot equivalent unit containers (TEUs) to 1.5 million TEUs.
With Canada’s container trade on a long-term growth trajectory, the Centerm terminal expansion will play an important role meeting demand in the short-term.
On the Centerm Expansion Project, this includes environmental protections such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating wait times for vehicles at train crossings, adding capacity for container ships to connect to electrical shore power, upgrading some yard cranes from diesel to electric, and building to LEED and Envision certification sustainability standards.
In 2022, the project was awarded the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure Envision Platinum award, their highest rated award. The project also improved local habitat through offsetting projects such as the award-winning Maplewood Marine Restoration Project, which restored approximately five hectares of low-value marine habitat into higher-value intertidal flat, eelgrass and rock reef habitat.
Public consultation on the project was based on two-way communication and open dialogue with stakeholders, the public and Indigenous groups during planning and construction. As part of the port authority’s community investment for the project, a $500,000 Centerm Community Fund was developed to help thank the local community for its patience during construction. The fund was part of a $2 million contribution to community initiatives in East Vancouver from the port authority and Centerm terminal operator DP World, and was distributed between 2019 and 2021 to 41 organizations working to enrich the lives of those living and working in the area as well as supporting local conservation efforts.