26 June 2008

Potash boom lifts Prince Rupert port

The following article is excerpted from the 26 June 2008 edition of “globeandmail.com”.

The potash boom touched down in Prince Rupert, B.C., Wednesday as Canpotex Ltd. said it would build a new export terminal to boost Asian shipments of the high-demand fertilizer as part of a $500-million expansion plan.

To nearly double its export capacity to 23 million tonnes a year from 12 million, Canpotex, which markets potash internationally for Saskatchewan producers, also plans to expand a Vancouver facility.

The win for Prince Rupert over a rival site in Cherry Point, Wash., is the latest and most visible sign of how the northwestern British Columbia port town is riding global demand for commodities.

Long battered by the declines of British Columbia's forestry and fishing industries, Prince Rupert has more recently been buoyed by increased bulk exports of coal and grain, the main products moving through the port.

About half of Canpotex's added capacity will be at the new terminal in Prince Rupert, which is expected to cost roughly $300-million.

Canpotex chose Prince Rupert largely for its direct connection to customers – it's a shorter ocean trip to Asia than from more southern ports.

And it's also a speedy link with potash producers in Saskatchewan. …otex.

Prince Rupert is also far less congested, handling just an eighth of the annual tonnage that moves through Vancouver, and the rail links to the northern port are also less busy….