Montreal’s Viau Terminal to enter phase two

MONTREAL – The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) and Logistec Corporation are launching construction on the second phase of development at Viau Terminal, which handles about 350,000 containers annually. The first phase was completed in 2016.

After a fifth consecutive record year, steady growth in its various fields of activity and a nine per cent upswing in the container sector with 1.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) handled in 2018, the Port of Montreal needs room for growth.

This new phase will add 250,000 TEUs to Viau Terminal’s current capacity, bringing it to 600,000 TEUs.

The project will allow the Port of Montreal to reach a maximum capacity on the Island of Montreal, 2.1 million TEUs.

Construction will run from September 2019 to December 2020 and will mainly include the following: installing piles, railway works, dynamic soil compaction, underground infrastructure works, laying foundation, and paving. Throughout the work mitigation measures will be implemented to minimize inconvenience to neighbouring communities. For example, dust suppressants will be applied to prevent or reduce the spread of dust and motorized equipment will have high-performance mufflers.

When fully operational, Viau Terminal will generate 2,500 direct and indirect jobs, as well as $340 million in economic benefits. The terminal uses new technologies and will continue to do so, for example by electrifying certain components and using broadband reversing alarms on equipment to minimize the noise impacts of handling activities.

Logistec Corporation announced that Termont Montreal Inc. is investing $30 million in the final phase of this key infrastructure project that, in turn, will enable the development and growth of services for the world’s second largest shipping line, MSC, a longstanding partner of both Termont Montreal Inc. and the Port of Montreal.

“The increase in terminal capacity is coming at the right time for us. We applaud this announcement as it ensures the future growth of our services in Montreal,”  said Sokat Shaikh, president and CEO of MSC Canada.

“MSC has grown significantly by more than 10 per cent a year for the past five years. This additional capacity at Viau Terminal will support such growth over the next two years. Then we will have to move on to the next step.”

Because this will exhaust available capacity in Montreal, the MPA is preparing for a container terminal project at Contrecoeur, where work is currently being implemented or finalized: environmental process, financial structure, engineering and design, negotiations for terminal operation, etc. Commissioning is scheduled for 2023–2024.