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| Prince Rupert Port Chair Bud Smith provided for a range of themes for the keynote address of the Port's Annual Public meeting on Tuesday night at the North Coast Convention Centre |
With one big announcement already released and a surprise one coming at the end of the night, the Port of Prince Rupert book ended their annual review for the public on Tuesday night, providing for a one and a half hour review of Port operations over the last year and a look ahead to some of the projects currently on the drawing board at the Port offices.
As we've already noted on the blog, on Tuesday morning the Port announced plans with DP World to expand the southern footprint of the Fairview Terminal creating the ability to deliver up to 1.8 million TEUS annually through the port by 2022.
And as the Port highlighted at the end of their Tuesday night public meeting, guiding that process along, as well as a range of other initiatives that the Port is working on will be Shaun Stevenson, named to the position of Port CEO and President as part of the conclusion to the Tuesday event.
Still there was more news to come from the ninety minute update on the state of the Port, as a range of Port officials provided their notes on the course the Port is taking to keep Prince Rupert on the global shipping map.
The main theme of the night however was the success to date and the ambitious plans for the future, with the Port of Prince Rupert's Chairman Bud Smith providing for the keynote address to the evening's gathering, highlighting a range of points on the state of the Port.
Chairman Smith opened the night's proceedings with a thumbnail sketch of the Port achievements from 2017, calling the year just passed a significant year for the Port, notable for what it means for future development as a port.
Towards those themes, the Board Chair outlined the range of partners that the Port works with through the Canadian trade corridor. Part of a strategic approach to ensure that the Port continues to meet its ambitions as a major gateway for global trade and to firmly place Prince Rupert as the future for shipping for Canada.
"Prince Rupert continues to pursue our purpose of building a better Canada through growing trade ... The Port of Prince Rupert is poised to be the solution of Canada's current West Coast market access problems particularly in Vancouver. We have the track record, the competitive values, the confidence of the market and the support of local First Nations and communities in which we operate" -- Board Chair Bud Smith
Mr. Smith offered up a forecast for doubling its volumes over the next ten years and made note of the long term ability to develop capacity for over 100 million tonnes and the potential to achieve 5 to 7 million TEU's of container through put.
Highlighting the diverse nature of the port cargo operations that the Port has attracted the Chair noted that the Prince Rupert gateway offers an alternative to the congestion and controversy that ports in larger markets on the west coast have found. observing how the volume and value of trade passing through Prince Rupert is now the third largest in Canada.
On building relationships in the Northwest, the Port's Chairman put some focus on the engagement between the Port and area First Nations.
"Perhaps most importantly, we recognize that First Nations are more than just stakeholders, they are our most important partners. And we have entrenched their interests in our business, ensuring that prosperity that is created is shared. We commit to ensuring all citizens have opportunity for meaningful participation in the economy now growing in this territory"
Mr. Smith also paid tribute to the work of Don Krusel, the former Port CEO and President who announced his retirement in September of 2017.
The Board chair hailed Krusel's vision and commitment and management as integral to the ability to build towards the future and build on Krusel's legacy.
He also paid his tribute to the life of the late Elmer Derrick, the former Board member passed away in September of 2017, noting that his passion and wisdom was missed by the Board.
You can review the Chairman's full presentation on the night below, the overview runs to the twenty seven minute mark.
As we work our way through the volume of items of note from a fairly hectic Tuesday for the Port, we'll compile our findings as part of our Port Authority Annual Report page.
More items of note related to the Port and its development plans can be found here.
Further background on the terminal operations at the Port can be reviewed here.
To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.
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