Battle over Metro Vancouver superport expansion ends in surprise alliance | Daily Hive

Battle over Metro Vancouver superport expansion concepts ends in surprise alliance

Preliminary concept of Roberts Bank Terminal 2. (Vancouver Fraser Port Authority)

After years of clashing over competing proposals to expand container terminal facilities in Tsawwassen, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) and local operator GCT Global Container Terminals announced this week that they have reached a truce — setting aside their differences to move forward on the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 (RBT2) superport strategy identified by the port authority.

“Increasing container capacity is essential to Canada’s ability to compete, grow and trade with the world. This is an exciting time for the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project with procurement underway and a landmass construction partner to be selected this summer,” said Peter Xotta, president of the port authority, in a statement.

Eric Waltz, president and CEO of GCT, added, “GCT has a long history of driving growth at the Port of Vancouver. Strong, reliable trade infrastructure is fundamental to Canada’s economic strength, and we are excited to work alongside the VFPA to explore how our operational expertise and long-term investment capacity can contribute to the successful delivery of RBT2.”

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GCT currently operates the GCT Deltaport terminal at the end of the man-made peninsula at Roberts Bank in Delta. The company had proposed expanding this existing terminal by 133 acres through land reclamation — roughly equivalent to the size of Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park — to grow the terminal from three berths to four and add supporting infrastructure. This expansion would increase GCT Deltaport’s annual handling capacity by about two million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units). In 2020, the project carried a preliminary construction cost estimate of $1.6 billion.

By contrast, the port authority’s plan calls for a major extension of the peninsula through land reclamation, creating approximately 450 acres of new land for RBT2 — a second container terminal in the area that would share existing road and rail access infrastructure. The project would add three new berths, a wharf, a widened causeway, and other significant supporting infrastructure, providing an annual handling capacity of 2.4 million TEUs. The preliminary cost estimate of building the project was last pegged at over $2 billion.

For comparison, in terms of capacity, the Centerm container terminal, located immediately north of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, can handle 1.5 million TEUs annually.

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

Preliminary concept of Roberts Bank Terminal 2. (Vancouver Fraser Port Authority)

Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Port of Vancouver

Preliminary concept of Roberts Bank Terminal 2. (Vancouver Fraser Port Authority)

Over the years, GCT has argued that expanding its existing terminal would involve lower construction costs and a smaller environmental footprint, while the port authority has maintained that its more ambitious plan is better suited to meet long-term demand, national economic interests, and operational efficiencies and redundancies, and is further advanced in the highly complex government regulatory approval process.

The port authority’s project received key approvals from federal and provincial governments in 2023, including federal environmental assessment approval with 370 legally binding conditions. They subsequently launched a bidding process in Summer 2025 seeking a contractor, aiming to begin preliminary construction in 2027 and major land reclamation work in 2028. If all goes as planned, the terminal is expected to begin operations in the mid-2030s.

This week’s announcement confirms that the port authority and GCT have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly advance the RBT2 project, and they will “work collaboratively to share information and negotiate in good faith with the goal of achieving a Joint Development Agreement.”

The outcome of these negotiations could see GCT selected by the port authority as both the builder and eventual operator of the terminal. The MOU sets a one-year timeline to reach an agreement.

Both parties will “work together through a defined process to assess the benefits, synergies, and operational expertise that GCT can contribute as the potential terminal builder and operator.”

In addition, GCT will withdraw the application it submitted in September 2025 to the federal government’s Major Projects Office, which sought to fast-track regulatory approval by designating its expansion proposal as a Project of National Interest.

“This MOU moves us into planning for the next stage of project delivery with an opportunity for partnership with a Canadian-owned operator with a strong track record of delivery in Port of Vancouver,” said Xotta.

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.

The collection of port facilities and terminals around Metro Vancouver create Canada’s largest port. The Port of Vancouver is also the fourth largest port in North America by tonnage and handles as much cargo as Canada’s next five largest ports combined.

Preliminary concept of the GCT Deltaport Berth 4 expansion project. (GCT)

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