THUNDER BAY — Keefer Terminal is on the receiving end of significant funding from the federal government.
An announcement Friday morning for up to $6.7 million will be coming from the National Trade Corridors Fund to invest in two large projects at the port.
MP Marcus Powlowski was on hand to deliver the announcement in lieu of the transport minister, Pablo Rodriguez.
"Given the importance of the terminal to our country's economy, this funding is welcome news not just for Northwestern Ontario, but also for the Prairies and our entire country,” Powlowski said.
CEO of Port of Thunder Bay, Chris Heikkinen, called the two projects important for the port and the city.
"We're able to provide more capacity for those back-haul cargoes in the port, and really the bottom line here is we're providing more work for locals. It's an economic injection into this city in the region."
The first project is receiving $3 million to redevelop the existing marshalling yard, including adding new heavyweight rail tracks and switches.
The second project, valued at up to $3.7 million, will improve the port's capacity by upgrading the wharf, expanding the cargo laydown area, and improving the rail crossing infrastructure between Keefer Terminal and the marshalling yard.
"One of the components is to reconstruct our marshalling yard across the street from Keefer terminal. This is a large swath of rail that isn't meeting the demand of today's cargoes," said Heikkinen.
He said the design work has already started. Construction is expected to start this spring and last until the end of 2026.
As each stage is completed, that space will become available to be used for cargo and customers.
The Soo Locks will open early this year, on March 22, and the first vessel to arrive at the port is expected within 24 to 36 hours after that.
