Melford International Terminalzs

Melford International Terminal - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Melford_International_Terminal
Coordinates: 45°32′1.57″N 61°18′15.83″W
Melford International Terminal

Melford International Terminal is a proposed Canadian
marine-rail container terminal to be built in the community of Melford International
Middle Melford in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. Terminal
Location Middle Melford, Nova
If constructed, Melford International Terminal would be the Scotia, Canada
closest deep-water marine-rail container terminal in mainland
Proposer Melford International
North America to Europe and the Suez Canal.[1]
Terminal Inc.
Project melford-terminal.com
website (http://melford-terminal.
Location com)
Status On hold
Located approximately 14 km (8.7 mi) south of the town of
Type Marine container
Mulgrave, the facility would be located on the western shore of
terminal, intermodal
the Strait of Canso partly on public and private property.
logistics park, rail line
Components Cost
estimate
$300 million (CAD)
The Melford International Terminal proposal includes the

following components:
a 3-berth marine container terminal capable of hosting post/new-Panamax and Malaccamax

container vessels
an intermodal rail facility
a logistics park
a 32 km (20 mi) rail spur from the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway mainline in the
community of Linwood
Timeline
The project was conceived in 2005 when west coast North American container terminals were
struggling to clear a massive backlog of freight shipments, largely imports from Asia. The
announced conversion of the Fairview Terminal at the Prince Rupert Port Authority is believed to
have been the impetus for creating a similar facility in northeastern Nova Scotia.
A search for suitable geography within proximity of existing rail lines highlighted a property known
as the "Melford Industrial Reserve." This property is Crown land located in the community of
Middle Melford owned by the Government of Nova Scotia which was set aside by its Crown
corporation Industrial Estates Limited for industrial development in the 1960s after the Canso
Causeway was constructed. In determining the feasibility of extending rail service to the location, it
was noted that an abandoned rail corridor connected the nearby town of Mulgrave, which would
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Melford International Terminal - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melford_International_Terminal
lessen construction and right of way purchasing costs.
During the facility's design phase, it was noted that a critical part of the area immediately onshore
where infilling and pier construction would take place, was privately owned. This resulted in the
Municipality of the District of Guysborough forcing the expropriation of private home owners who
had lived in the community for generations.
The project received environmental impact assessment approval by the Government of Nova Scotia
as well as the Government of Canada in October 2008, at the height of the U.S. financial system's
liquidity crisis. Project partners had originally included a major U.S. terminal operator SSA Marine,
as well as various shipping lines and financing companies. Following the onset of the global
recession and dramatic drop in international shipping, SSA Marine and many other international
partners gave up their stake in Melford International Terminal and the project was dormant for
much of 2008–2010.
On July 7, 2010, Maher Terminals announced that they had taken an unspecified stake in the
Melford Terminal project. Maher Terminals is the designated operator of the Prince Rupert
Container Terminal in Prince Rupert, British Columbia on behalf of the Prince Rupert Port
Authority. Maher is also the designated operator of the Elizabeth ExpressRail facility in Port
Elizabeth, New Jersey on behalf of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Various timelines for the project have been released by the proponents over the past decade,
however, construction has yet to begin.
In 2018 contracts for design work and clearing the land were awarded.[2]
Proponents
Proponents of the Melford facility note the economic development that would benefit economically
depressed Guysborough County and the town of Mulgrave.
Opponents
Following the 2005 announcement of the Melford International Terminal, a group of marine
infrastructure owners in Sydney, Nova Scotia have developed a competing proposal to dredge
Sydney Harbour at an estimated cost of $40 million to accommodate deep draft container ships and
build a 2–3 berth container terminal at the Sydport Industrial Park, the former navy base in Point
Edward at a cost of $150 million. This proposal would not require construction of a rail line as the
location is already served by the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway. Prime Minister
Stephen Harper visited Sydney in December 2010 where he announced the Government of Canada
would contribute $20 million to the Sydney project, on top of a $15 million contribution from the
Government of Nova Scotia and $2 million from the municipality and Nova Scotia Power.[3] A
contract was signed in April 2011 with Netherlands engineering firm Boskalis for the dredging work
in Sydney Harbour to take place in fall 2011.[4]
Shipping industry observers also note that the publicly owned Port of Halifax is a long-established
deepwater port with two container terminals located 300 km (160 nmi) southwest of the proposed
Melford Terminal and Halifax already has existing CN rail connections to the rest of North America
while operating at below 50% capacity. Furthermore, the Port of Halifax has been expanding the
piers at both the South End Halifax Container Terminal and the Fairview Cove Container Terminal
to accommodate larger ships.
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Other opponents include private property owners whose land was expropriated as well as
environmentalists.
References
1. King, Nancy (July 14, 2008). "Melford International Terminal partners with world's largest real
estate firm" (http://www.capebretonpost.com/index.cfm?sid=152354&sc=145). The Cape Breton
Post. Retrieved September 4, 2008.
2. King, Nancy (May 24, 2018). "Melford container terminal project moving ahead | Cape Breton
Post" (https://www.capebretonpost.com/business/melford-container-terminal-project-moving-ahe
ad-212922/). Cape Breton Post. SaltWire Network. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
3. "Sydney Harbour dredging to get federal funds" (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/st
ory/2010/12/10/ns-sydney-harbour-dredging-federal-money.html). CBC News. December 10,
2010.
4. "Contract signed for dredging for Sydney harbour" (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/
story/2011/04/15/ns-sydney-harbour-dredging.html). CBC News. April 15, 2011.
External links
Melford Terminal Official Site (http://www.melford-terminal.com)
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Melford International Terminal - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.

Coordinates: 45°32′1.57″N 61°18′15.83″W

Melford International Terminal

The Melford International Terminal proposal includes the

a 3-berth marine container terminal capable of hosting post/new-Panamax and Malaccamax

lessen construction and right of way purchasing costs.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Melford_International_Terminal&oldid=932587844"

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