24 December 2007

Canadian west coast ports to merge on Jan. 1

The following article is excerpted from the 23 December 2007 edition of “The Journal of Commerce”.

Three of Canada's west coast ports, including the country's largest, will become a single operating unit on Jan. 1.

Completion of the yearlong regulatory and legislative process means the Fraser River, North Fraser and Vancouver port authorities in British Columbia will become the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.

Canada's federal government issued the "Certificate of Amalgamation" for the three port authorities on Dec. 21.

The amalgamation of the three Canadian port authorities is one of the key policy measures under the new government's Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative; the British Columbia government also pushed for the amalgamation….

As part of the amalgamation process, the three port authorities developed blended functional teams that include representatives from each authority who have been working together since early 2007 toward the same amalgamation goals.

The VFPA's jurisdiction will encompass the combined land, water and assets of the existing three ports. The unified port "will be well positioned to better coordinate port planning and develop new investment opportunities that will facilitate the circulation of goods to and from foreign markets," said Gordon Houston, chair of the Lower Mainland Port Amalgamation Steering Committee and chief executive of the Vancouver Port Authority. The VFPA also will have greater resources for land acquisition, river management and strategic infrastructure investments, he said….

The VFPA will operate from the three existing port offices located in New Westminster, Richmond and at Canada Place in Vancouver. Its 11-member board of directors will be announced on Jan. 1.