Hamilton Port Authority receives $17.7 million investment

The city is set to break ground in a modernization project along the industrial Piers 12, 13, 14, and 15 that will help keep the existing industry moving efficiently while hopefully attracting new business.

The Hamilton harbour is normally lined with giant idle vessels, waiting for their turn to unload or pickup cargo. On Tuesday, the Federal government handed over a $17.7 million cheque to help pick up the pace.

“The project will include a new dock on Pier 12 one the port’s busiest piers. It’ll upgrade rail infrastructure that’ll increase capacity and will provide rail to have access,” said Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport.

The Hamilton Port Authority will match the government’s contribution to help kickoff the modernization project in January. The transport minister says construction alone would create over 520 jobs.

About 10 million tons of cargo valued at just under $2 billion is transported through the port yearly. The project will turn unused land into viable options for future business.

“Taking the land that we got probably increase by about 40 to 50 acres, so based on the productivity of that and the type of industries we’ll be able to attract we can easily generate another million tons of cargo,” said Ian Hamilton, President Hamilton Port Authority.

The new land being created by the Randle Reef Remediation Project is also part of the modernization plan. It’s set to create a whole new port that would be connected by rail. The city says it’s currently on schedule to be completed in December of 2021.