Estimated costs for the first phase of the Melford project top US$350-million, meaning federal money could make up a significant portion of the financing
Nadine Ramadan, spokesperson for federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, confirmed the promoter submitted a funding application for the project under the government’s $4.6-billion National Trade Corridors Fund. She declined to say whether a final decision has been made to approve it.
Still, there is significant skepticism about the need for such a facility, particularly one that would tap public money while operating outside the public port authority system. Although they would not speak on the record, some shipping industry players questioned the wisdom of adding more container handling capacity in Eastern Canada at a time existing capacity is nowhere near its limit at the competing ports of Halifax, Saint John and Montreal.
A Quebec government official said the province is concerned about the Melford project and what the addition of a new player means for existing facilities. The Globe is not naming the official as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Montreal is waiting on a decision from the federal government to a request for additional financing worth $150-million to help fund its own container terminal expansion project in Contrecoeur.
The promoter has no current website but an archived version of a previous website site says Melford would be the closest North American deep-water mainland port to Europe, Asia and the Indian subcontinent via the Suez Canal. The project would incorporate advanced technologies and layouts to give the port speedier processing times than existing facilities, the website says.
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