Federal government urged to expedite Delta superport expansion project | Daily Hive

Federal government urged to expedite Delta superport berth expansion project

Concept of the GCT Deltaport Berth 4 expansion project. (GCT)

The concentration of superport facilities in the southwest corner of Metro Vancouver — near BC Ferries’ Tsawwassen ferry terminal — could grow even larger if Global Container Terminals (GCT) moves forward with its years-long created plan, with the new help of the federal government.

The private company announced on Friday that it has submitted an application to the Government of Canada’s new Major Project Office, seeking to have the Deltaport Berth 4 (DP4) expansion added to the Projects of National Interest List.

This federal initiative, introduced by Prime Minister Mark Carney, is designed to cut red tape, prioritize, and fast-track “nation-building projects” with significant economic and/or national security value — such as natural resource projects, and energy and transportation infrastructure.

The approach by Carney comes at a time when Canada is grappling with structural economic challenges and global uncertainty, with the program intended to attract private investment, diversify trade, and strengthen resilience.

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Earlier this week, the Prime Minister announced the first projects to be reviewed by the new Major Projects Office. They include LNG Canada Phase 2 in Kitimat, B.C.; the Darlington New Nuclear Plant in Bowmanville, Ontario; the Contrecoeur Container Terminal Project in Quebec; the McIlvenna Bay Foran Copper Mine in Saskatchewan; and the Red Chris Mine expansion in northwest B.C.

Other major projects and strategies are also under consideration but require further planning, such as the proposed Alto high-speed rail service between Toronto and Quebec City.

Existing condition of the man-made peninsula home to the GCT Deltaport container terminal and Westshore coal export terminal. (GCT)

gct deltaport container terminal port new cranes april 2025

New cranes arrive at GCT Deltaport container terminal on April 20, 2025. (GCT)

GCT’s proposal would expand GCT Deltaport in Tsawwassen from three berths to four, adding one new berth to the existing container terminal.

The company’s request is separate from, and in direct contrast to, the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project led by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. That project would construct an entirely new three-berth container terminal through a massive westward expansion of the man-made peninsula that currently houses GCT Deltaport’s container terminal and the 1970-built Westshore coal export terminal.

Earlier this year, the port authority launched its bidding process to line up a contractor for Roberts Bank Terminal 2, with early construction works anticipated to begin in 2027, major land reclamation to start in 2028, and operations commencing in the mid-2030s.

For years, GCT and the port authority have clashed over how best to increase container capacity at Roberts Bank. GCT maintains that its incremental, privately-funded expansion offers a more appropriately scaled, lower-cost, and lower-impact solution. The port authority, meanwhile, has pushed ahead with Roberts Bank Terminal 2 to ensure long-term capacity and to introduce competition, previously indicating that a different operator — not GCT — would run the new facility.

The port authority received key federal and provincial regulatory approvals for the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project in 2023.

Concept for Global Container Terminals’ proposed GCT Deltaport Berth 4 expansion project:

Concept of the GCT Deltaport Berth 4 expansion project. (GCT)

Concept for the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s approved Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project:

Concept of the Port of Vancouver’s Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project. (Port of Vancouver)

The Deltaport Berth 4 project would involve reclaiming 133 acres of land, comparable to creating a land area of the size of Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park.

This eastward land area expansion would support not only the new berth but also an expanded container yard and a straightened causeway to the mainland, correcting a surveying error from the 1960s. Plans also include a barge berth for local container movements (as an alternative to truck transport), expanded on-dock rail tracks, and other terminal infrastructure upgrades.

If built, Deltaport Berth 4 would boost GCT Deltaport’s annual handling capacity by about two million TEUs — increasing from its current capacity of roughly 2.4 million TEUs to approximately 4.4 million TEUs.

Concept of the GCT Deltaport Berth 4 expansion project. (GCT)

“Prime Minister Carney has set a clear direction for Canada: invest in infrastructure that unlocks private capital, drives innovation, and positions our country for long-term success,” said Eric Waltz, president and CEO of GCT, in a statement.

“Adding DP4 to the Projects of National Interest List would demonstrate federal leadership and provide the certainty we need to advance one of the most important private-sector-led trade infrastructure investments in Canada.”

Waltz emphasized that GCT’s project directly supports Carney’s new national priorities of expanding trade, improving supply chain security, engaging in climate-conscious growth, and attracting private-sector investment.

The company is jointly owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which has a majority share, and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, which has a minority share.

“This government has made it clear that Canada must compete to win global investment. DP4 represents exactly the type of high-impact, low-risk infrastructure project the Prime Minister has called for — private sector investment, partnering with public sector,” continued Waltz.

GCT Deltaport first opened in 1997, and it has seen incremental expansion and modernization projects over the years, including a $400-million project in 2010 for the addition of a third berth and an expanded container yard, and a $300-million project in 2018 that created the world’s first semi-automated intermodal railyard.

Intermodal rail yard expansion at GCT Deltaport. (Kyle Surovy)

New cranes arrive at GCT Deltaport container terminal on April 20, 2025. (GCT)

The Deltaport Berth 4 project would generate 10,000 full-time jobs during construction and 1,000 full-time jobs when operational. The goods flowing through the facility would grow Canada’s GDP by billions of dollars.

In 2020, GCT’s preliminary construction cost estimate for the Deltaport Berth 4 project was pegged at $1.6 billion. However, given the significant pandemic-induced market inflationary cycle that began in 2021/2022, the actual cost of pursuing the project is now likely to be considerably higher.

Similarly, the port authority previously estimated the cost of building Roberts Bank Terminal 2 at just over $2 billion, though that figure has also likely risen substantially for the same reasons.

The land reclamation requirements for Roberts Bank Terminal 2 would involve the creation of about 450 acres of new land — equivalent to nearly half the size of Stanley Park in Vancouver or about three-and-a-half times larger than Deltaport Berth 4’s land reclamation needs. Upon opening, Roberts Bank Terminal 2 will have a capacity for 2.4 million TEUs per year.

If both Deltaport Berth 4 and Roberts Bank Terminal 2 are achieved, the container terminal capacity at Tsawwassen could reach up to 6.8 million TEUs annually — nearly tripling the location’s existing capacity.

GCT also operates the GCT Vanterm container terminal, located immediately north of the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood in Vancouver in Burrard Inlet. It has a capacity of about one million TEUs per year.

Concept of Roberts Bank Terminal 2. (Port of Vancouver)

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