Port Saint John opens $247M West Side Modernization Project

Port Saint John, along with government and private-sector partners, has officially opened the $247-million West Side Modernization Project, a major infrastructure initiative aimed at strengthening the port’s role in Canada’s supply chain.

The project, funded by the federal government, the Province of New Brunswick and the port, was completed in December 2025 and caps a decades-long effort to expand the port’s container operations. The west side container terminal, operated by DP World, now includes an additional berth, a deepened and widened channel, expanded laydown space and improved intermodal capabilities.

Port officials say the upgrades have increased on-dock container capacity more than fourfold to more than 800,000 twenty-foot equivalent units annually.

Over the past 10 years, the modernization effort has attracted more than $750 million in private-sector investment for equipment and rail upgrades from partners including DP World, CPKC, CN and NB Southern Railway. The port said container throughput rose 400 per cent to nearly 240,000 TEUs in 2025.

With further growth expected in 2026, the container sector is projected to contribute $125.7 million to New Brunswick’s gross domestic product and support 928 jobs in the province.

“We’re tremendously proud to be celebrating the completion of the $247 million West Side Modernization Project, the momentum it’s created for our gateway and the hundreds of people working on our waterfront because of it,” said Craig Bell Estabrooks, president and CEO of Port Saint John.