Fairview Terminal – image courtesy Prince Rupert Port Authority

Prince Rupert, B.C. –  It’s a special day today in Prince Rupert as the community marks the completion of the Fairview Terminal expansion project and marks the 10th anniversary of the Terminal.

The expansion,  estimated to cost between $200 and $300 million dollars makes the Fairview container terminal, the second largest container  terminal in Canada.  It  increases  the Port’s capacity by  more than 50%.”More importantly it adds a second berth so two container vessels can be worked at the facility at the same time” says Port CEO Don Krusel.

The new berth is equipped with three of the largest container handling cranes in the world says Krusel “Which will enable the Port of Prince Rupert to handle the largest container ships that are in existence today.”

The expansion completion  is  just  one part of the celebration planned in Prince Rupert today says Krusel, “The other part is the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the initial opening of Fairview as a container terminal.”  He says  the Fairview terminal has been  dramatically successful “It has really been a Cinderella story and the Fairview terminal is the glass slipper for this community.”

When the container port first opened, the longshore labour force  numbered less than 80, today it’s over 900  and the expansion expects to see that number grow by another 200 at the terminal, and  hundreds more  in connected  industries.  But the terminal’s impact has not been limited to Prince Rupert says Krusel “It had an impact right across Northern British Columbia.  By our  surveys,  3,300 direct jobs have been created over the  last ten years in Northern British Columbia, including  Prince Rupert, but also including  places like Prince George and Smithers.”  He says another 2,000 indirect jobs have also been  created.

And if those two  milestones aren’t  enough  to spark a celebration, there is one more positive, the addition of a container stuffing facility “Grains are  going to be railed from  right across  Western Canada to Prince Rupert” says Krusel “and these grains  and specialty agriculture products will be stuffed into empty containers in Prince Rupert  and that’s going to create another 40 jobs as well in Prince Rupert.”

Other activities at the port include the  $475 million dollar Liquid propane export terminal being  developed by Alta Gas on  Ridley Island and the Port Authority’s  $16 million dollar security and maintenance building.