VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA — Parrish & Heimbecker, Limited (P&H) announced on Nov. 23 that it is moving forward to build and operate Fraser Grain Terminal, a new export facility in Surrey, British Columbia. The project received Vancouver Fraser Port Authority permit approval last week.

“P&H has grown substantially to support Canadian farmers and overseas customer demands,” said Casey McCawley, vice-president of West coast operations for P&H. “This project demonstrates our unwavering investment in the supply chain to build strong business relationships with customers around the world.”

Exports of Canadian grain and specialty crops to growing markets in China and Southeast Asia continue to increase. P&H said the new export facility will address two major constraints — limited western Canada rail capacity, and a shortage of port industrial land for grain handling. P&H has secured a long-term lease with the port authority for the site. Once complete, Fraser Grain Terminal (FGT) will provide 4 million tonnes of terminal capacity per year.

“FGT provides desperately needed western export capacity for our farmers to reach global markets, one that will have a significant and positive impact locally and around the world,” said Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe.

“This project will bring economic gains for farmers in Manitoba,” said Ralph Eichler, minister of agriculture. “With so much of our grain exports going to Asia, anything that improves the speed of delivery is good for all Canadians.”

The new terminal will have modern storage facilities, three shiploaders equipped with dust-reducing technology, and a fully-enclosed above ground conveying system with built-in dust suppression.

“The leading design that P&H chose will improve regional efficiency and safety and help reduce dust and noise in the local community,” said Randy Roller of FWS, P&H’s designer and construction contractor.

The project will extend existing rail loading areas and enable high speed rail car unloading, to improve loading efficiency, reduce rail shunting and dramatically improve rail car cycle times between the Prairies and metropolitan Vancouver.

Construction is planned to start in late 2018 and will take approximately two years to complete. Once the new terminal begins operating, the existing smaller facility, a joint venture with Fraser Surrey Docks, will convert to handle only pelleted protein products. The existing mobile shiploader will be decommissioned.

“CN is proud to be a transportation partner in P&H's investment in supply chain rail efficiency, in Western Canada and at Fraser Grain Terminal,” said Doug MacDonald, vice-president, senior rail centric supply chain of CN Rail. “This will not only benefit P&H's customers but also help us to better serve all our customers.”

Joan Hardy, vice-president of sales and marketing, grain and fertilizers at CP, added, “Canadian Pacific supports the investment of new, efficient grain unloading capacity in Vancouver. These advancements fit with our 8,500-foot High Efficiency Product train model and are what the grain supply chain needs as we continue to deliver for farmers, shippers and the broader economy.”

John Heimbecker, president of P&H Grain, said, “This grain terminal is one of a continuing series of large-scale investments in agriculture across Canada to help link producers to value added businesses and end-use customers in the most efficient way possible. With the help of the railways and the port authority we expect FGT to be one of the most productive terminals in the Pacific Northwest.”