ROLE OF PRINCE RUPERT IN POTASH EXPORT INDUSTRY
MONDAY,NOVEMBER 2, 2009
G. Coons: Taking the lead from Terrace’s Hockeyville success, Prince Rupert is poised to become Potashville. As the Saskatchewan potash industry pushes to double exports in the next decade, those in Prince Rupert anticipate they will tap into the Port of Prince Rupert to try to avoid the rail congestion to other locations.
Canpotex, an internationally recognized business, plans to adds about 11 million tonnes of shipping capacity by 2012, almost doubling its current capacity. Just over a month ago over 500 people turned out to a public meeting about the project in Prince Rupert. The magnitude of community support caught Jon Somers, vice-president of Canpotex, off guard.
At the heart of the matter is a proposal to either build a $400 million potash terminal on Ridley Island — which Somers said would probably be the world’s largest and the world’s most innovative and will create hundreds of construction jobs, with 80 to 100 full-time operational jobs — or to expand their existing facility in Vancouver. Somers sees it as a gateway, a straight shot from Saskatchewan to Prince Rupert right to the heart of Asia.
Prince Rupert, as we know, is the closest North American port to Asian markets, with faster sailing times, lower costs. It can handle the largest of cargo ships, unlike Vancouver. Don Krusel, president and CEO for the Prince Rupert Port Authority, is confident that the Prince Rupert gateway will provide Canpotex and the potash industry with significant advantages in growing their export business.
The project also reinforces the success that can be achieved when CN, the port authority and the Coast Tsimshian First Nation work together to demonstrate the strategic advantages of our trade corridor.
The price of potash, a key ingredient for fertilizer, has fluctuated over the past year. But every morning the rush to check out the TSX puts a strain on our local Internet speed as we get poised to raise the banner. Prince Rupert is Potashville.