CentrePort Canada | Winnipeg

[Tower Crane]

Originally Posted by DAVEinEDMONTON

The idea of an inland port is that the goods in containers would arrive in bond and be shipped to bonded warehouses where they would remain free of duty and taxes and get distributed in bonded warehouses for further shipment to points east and south. I have a client who is developing a tracking devise that through sattilite positioning can track the location of the containers and track who and when the containers get opened for purposes of assessing the bond related issues.

Vancouver port is too busy as are most of the west coasts ports in the US to handle a lot of the increased traffic that is expected from China and other points east. With the opening of the port in Prince Rupert, shippers from Asia now have a route that is shorter than the other traditional routes in existence. Also, if they are able to unload the ships in a more efficient manner, the time line for shipping will be greatly reduced. That can be a significant factor.

Winnipeg has a good location for Churchill and goods travelling from Europe. However, Edmonton has a better location for goods from Asia. A lot of the advantages that Winnipeg has, also exist in Edmonton. For example, both cities have 24 hour airports. However, Edmonton's airport is farther out in the city and is not confined by the city population being so close. Both airports have lots of developable land. Again, Edmonton has more considering it is not confined at all by the city proper. Both cities have good rail connections. Both cities have strong trucking facilities. Edmonton's location is better as you would think that if you wanted to ship to North America from Asia you would want to ship to the first major point, split up your product and move it by truck to all other points in North America. If you intend to ship to California or other points in the western US as part of this process, why would you want to ship all the way to Winnipeg and then ship things back west? As far as air traffic from Asia is concerned, Edmonton is currently working on getting airlines to use the airport as its stopover for fueling for flights from eastern US cities heading west to China. Once you establish the fueling stops you can integrate the shipment of international cargo from Asia. Here again, Edmonton has an advantage because Winnipeg may be too close to the eastern cities to warrant being a fueling stop.

Eventually, I think both cities are going to end up having inland ports but they may end up servicing different markets.

I have watched this discussion unfold for the past 40 years in Winnipeg and regardless of the Centre port proposal it's just not going to happen. ( Churchill will not be the port Prince Rupert is now with year round shipping ). Although I am a Winnipegger at heart and would love to see Centreport become a reality I believe that the Edmonton Inland Port will actual get built.