Dubai-based port operator DP World has agreed with the Port of Prince Rupert the details of an expansion to its container terminal at the Canadian port.

The next phase of expansion, labelled Phase 2B, will increase annual capacity to 1.8 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from its current capacity of 1.35 million.

Construction on Phase 2B will begin mid-2019, with completion scheduled for 2022.

An initial gradual capacity increase to 1.6 million TEUs will occur in 2020, followed by the expansion of the container yard to the south.

The project will add two new rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes as well as an eighth dock gantry crane. Expansion of the container yard under the project will see an increase from its current 320,000 square metres (sq m) to 410,000 sq m.

Existing maintenance and administration buildings will be relocated to create additional storage capacity.

Further expansion of the on-dock rail capacity with the addition of 6,680 feet (2,036 metres) of working track will also be completed under the Phase 2B project.

The project is expected to create an estimated 300 additional full-time equivalent (FTE) positions at Fairview Container Terminal.

The Phase 2B project follows the completion in 2017 of Fairview Phase 2A, which increased the terminal capacity by 500,000 TEUs.

DP World operates three ports in Canada, with a total of 78 marine and inland terminals across six continents.

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