{"id":619998,"date":"2026-04-22T01:13:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T01:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/619998\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T01:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T01:13:08","slug":"port-of-vancouver-signs-mou-in-truce-with-gct-on-proposed-container-terminal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/619998\/","title":{"rendered":"Port of Vancouver signs MOU in truce with GCT on proposed container terminal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A gantry crane is used to unload a cargo container from a container ship docked at Global Container Terminals Deltaport, at sunset in Delta, B.C., in July, 2019.DARRYL DYCK\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and Global Container Terminals Inc. have called a truce in their seven-year battle to develop expansion plans.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s largest port and the company, which operates a major container terminal there, had rival proposals, but they have agreed to work together in the next year on the port\u2019s initial idea for the multibillion-dollar Roberts Bank Terminal 2, or RBT2.<\/p>\n

The port wants to build an artificial island for the container expansion, which would be near GCT\u2019s existing Deltaport operation, located about 30 kilometres south of Vancouver. <\/p>\n

Port leaders have touted the potential for 3,000 direct and indirect jobs that would be created during more than six years of construction and then up to 1,500 jobs at the new terminal once it\u2019s up and running.<\/p>\n

Peter Xotta, the port authority president, and GCT president Eric Waltz, said in statements on Tuesday announcing their memorandum of understanding that they\u2019re looking forward to working together on the project. <\/p>\n

Mr. Waltz said the project \u201cis fundamental to Canada\u2019s economic strength.\u201d <\/p>\n

And Mr. Xotta said it \u201cis an exciting time for the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project with procurement underway and a landmass construction partner to be selected this summer.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ottawa favours southern route for new Alberta-B.C. pipeline, sources say<\/a><\/p>\n

GCT had previously proposed an expansion to its Deltaport facility and submitted plans to the federal government\u2019s Major Projects Office based in Calgary, but has now withdrawn that application and is in the running to operate RBT2. <\/p>\n

Ontario Teachers\u2019 Pension Plan and Australia-based IFM Investors each own 37.5 per cent of GCT, while B.C. Investment Management Corp. holds a 25-per-cent stake.<\/p>\n

Container trade is tracked through an industry measurement called TEUs (20-foot equivalent units).<\/p>\n

About 3.8 million TEUs of exports and imports went through the Port of Vancouver in 2025, up 9 per cent compared with 2024. Last year marked a record for containerized cargo, exceeding the previous high set in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Canada\u2019s largest port, the Port of Vancouver plays a critical role in enabling trade and supporting the national economy. Increasing container capacity is essential to meeting future demand, improving supply chain resilience and maintaining Canada\u2019s global competitiveness,\u201d the port authority and GCT said in a joint statement.<\/p>\n

Port of Vancouver handles record amount of cargo, bolstered by China<\/a><\/p>\n

The port authority will continue to be responsible for engaging with Indigenous groups, including the Musqueam Indian Band and Tsawwassen First Nation. <\/p>\n

Roger Emsley, executive director of the Against Port Expansion community group, said he is disappointed by the signing of the MOU.<\/p>\n

RBT2 will mean a decrease in mudflat biofilms, a critical food source for migratory and other shorebirds, including western sandpipers, he said.<\/p>\n

The RBT2 project, which is subject to 370 legally binding conditions to comply with environmental rules, received approval in 2023 from the federal and B.C. governments. <\/p>\n

Mr. Emsley said the port authority\u2019s $3.5-billion price estimate for RBT2 is outdated and vastly underestimates how much it would ultimately cost.<\/p>\n

Union leaders have raised concerns about RBT2, notably about the magnitude of automation during operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: A gantry crane is used to unload a cargo container from a container…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":619999,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,55,883,913],"class_list":{"0":"post-619998","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-vancouver","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-ca","15":"tag-canada","16":"tag-canada-news","17":"tag-canada-sports","18":"tag-canada-sports-news","19":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","20":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","21":"tag-canadian-news","22":"tag-economy","23":"tag-education","24":"tag-environment","25":"tag-federal-government","26":"tag-foreign-news","27":"tag-globe-and-mail","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","29":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","30":"tag-government","31":"tag-life-news","32":"tag-lifestyle","33":"tag-local-news","34":"tag-manitoba","35":"tag-national-news","36":"tag-new-brunswick","37":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","38":"tag-northwest-territories","39":"tag-nova-scotia","40":"tag-nunavut","41":"tag-ontario","42":"tag-pei","43":"tag-photos","44":"tag-political-news","45":"tag-political-opinion","46":"tag-politics","47":"tag-politics-news","48":"tag-quebec","49":"tag-sports-news","50":"tag-technology","51":"tag-travel","52":"tag-trudeau","53":"tag-us-news","54":"tag-vancouver","55":"tag-world-news","56":"tag-yukon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}