Globe and Mail puts spotlight on Port and partners expansion plans and Prince Rupert

Some National and International attention for the
Prince Rupert Industrial waterfront this past weekend
that from an article in the Globe and Mail
(image from PRPA)

The ongoing evolution for the Northern Gateway to Asia was the focus this weekend for Canada's National newspaper the Globe and Mail.

Correspondent Brent Jang, who has been to the city a number of times in the past, made a return visit to catch up on some of the plans ahead for the Port and how that growth will be welcomed by a community looking to break free of some of its past.

The Globe piece was titled "Port of Prince Rupert eyes expansion as BC city shakes off hard-luck image" and for the most part  it focused on plans most of us on the North Coast are aware of, but make for a good primer for the rest of the country and an international audience for the potential of the port and region.

Among some of the industrial footprint explored were the plans for a second container terminal south of the DP World location, with the Port and Dubai based DP World collaborating on a feasibility study, the results of which are to be released in 2024.

The AltaGas/Vopak partnership is also noted in the article, with the combined industrial groups set to develop a new facility next to the propane export terminal on Ridley Island.

The Metlakatla/Port partnership towards an import logistics park was also noted, as was the ports own plans towards development of their own logistics terminal as part of the Ridley Island industrial area.

A quick look at the cruise tourism sector is also part of the overview.

Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond provided some municipal notes for the Globe and Mail reporter, recounting the Charles Hays story from Titanic days, through to the days of economic prosperity of the pulp mill and fish industry times.

Jang also makes note of the LNG days and Mr. Ponds' ties to the BG Group proposal that was eventually terminated, with the Mayor recounting of the gold rush like atmosphere of those times not too long in our rear view mirror.

The article observes of Mr. Pond's bookend moments to the current status of things in the community,  from his days as Mayor prior to his LNG ambitions and then returned to office nearly a decade later.

The mayor also noted of the resilience of the community to move on from the LNG era, noting for the  Globe of the rebirth for the Digby Towers apartments which recently began to offer rental space after its near 20 years of abandonment, the value of home sales also making for some of the narrative of rebirth.

The recent vision planning of the Hays 2.0 plan and the follow work of Redesign Rupert gains a review in the Globe report, which then circles back to the work underway towards moving forward to the second container terminal berth

Housing did make for some commentary in the article as did some of the growth in Indigenous led investment with the Crest Hotel purchase by the Gisxaala Nation among the items of note. 

The partnerships of Lax Kw'alaams and Metlakatla in Trigon also makes for some of the overview.

Also of note is Trigon's plans for their Berth 2 Beyond Carbon project, which saw the company CEO Rob Booker make use of a local resource towards impressing would be investors, with a meal at Fukasaku part of the introduction to Prince Rupert for some could be Japanese investors.

The delegation  was in Prince Rupert to learn more about how Trigon may be able to meet the demand for ammonia in Asian markets. The Beyond Carbon plans part of the diversification strategy for the company as the world moves away from coal.

The tutorial on Prince Rupert's industrial footprint makes for a helpful tool for local Terminals to have delivered to would be investors or partners. 

Though one large industrial site did not make for a review, the Watson Island Intermodal Trade and Logistics Park, a missed opportunity perhaps to gain more awareness for the City of Prince Rupert's own part of the waterfront industrial base.

If you're a Globe and Mail subscriber, or haven't used up all the free read credits available you can review the waterfront travels of Mr. Jang here.

For some further background on the industrial themes noted in his piece, see our archive pages available here for our past notes on the terminals that he visited.