Pacific Gateway key to growing Asian markets

New and emerging markets in Asia are giving us an exciting chance to create jobs and opportunities right across our province and to establish a thriving future economy for British Columbia.

B.C.’s proximity to the Asia-Pacific region makes us ideally situated to take advantage of a growing demand for a broad range of Canadian products such as coal, forest products, seafood, liquefied natural gas, and potash. Key markets include the growing economies of China, India, Korea and Japan.

British Columbia is already recognized internationally as the fastest transportation gateway between North America and Asia and we are going to build on that success.

Imports and exports are expanding through our Pacific Gateway. For instance:

* Total foreign tonnage at Port Metro Vancouver was up 2.5 per cent increasing to 95.6 million tonnes.

* Bulk volumes set records with dry bulk cargoes like coal up 7.8 per cent overall.

* Potash increased 30 per cent to a new record of 7.2 million metric tonnes.

* Prince Rupert cargoes were up 18 per cent over 2010.

* Total coal tonnage to Korea, China and Japan was up 16 per cent over

2010.

* Loaded containers were up 59 per cent from 2010.

* Fairview Container Terminals were up 20 per cent over 2010.

* Grain was up 17 per cent over 2010.

* Seafood exports to China grew to $109 million, topping 2010’s total by $29 million, which is an increase of 36 per cent.

In 2005, our government, along with Alberta and Saskatchewan, began collaborating with the federal government, Canada’s major railways, Vancouver International Airport, Port Metro Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert. Since that time, we’ve been working in partnership in the Pacific Gateway Alliance to build and enhance the port, road, rail and air corridors in our province that move people and goods to and from global markets.

The Pacific Gateway Alliance is a unique partnership that oversees a $22 billion (including more than $14 billion committed from the private sector) expansion of port, rail, road and airport facilities, bringing together infrastructure investments, labour reliability, and service improvements.

The Pacific Gateway is a cornerstone of ‘Canada Starts Here – The BC Jobs Plan’, and its goals of strengthening our infrastructure through investment and expanding our markets in Asia. This strategy is paying off by creating jobs all around B.C. from Prince Rupert to Dawson Creek, from Sparwood to Hope, and the Lower Mainland to Vancouver Island.

We are improving our quality of life by separating road from rail traffic and providing better access for residents and farmers, so that people will spend less time in traffic and our products will reach their destination faster. In less than a year, people in the Lower Mainland can look forward to the opening of the new, 10-lane Port Mann Bridge, and the first section of the South Fraser Perimeter Road, to improve their commute. Meanwhile, major highway improvements will continue in the Okanagan, along Highway 1, and throughout the north of the province to open up B.C. to even more business opportunities.

Public investment in our infrastructure is spurring private investment throughout the province. Last December, Rio Tinto announced one of the largest private sector investments in B.C. history — $3.3 billion into the expansion of its aluminum smelter in Kitimat, creating thousands of jobs and making it one of the cleanest smelters in the world.

Other industries are joining in as well. Over the last two years Teck Resources has invested almost $1 billion to improve its coal operations, CP Rail is investing $350 million to upgrade rail infrastructure, and Vancouver International Airport is investing $1.8 billion to move passengers faster through YVR. Soon British Columbia will also create a whole new resource market when liquefied natural gas (LNG) begins moving through the first plant in Kitimat.

If we are going to stay ahead of the competition worldwide, we need to take bold steps into the future. Through our partnerships in the Pacific Gateway Alliance we will continue to make strategic investments to strengthen our infrastructure and expand our markets in Asia and the world.

The seamless flow of goods, services, and people are what continue to make the Pacific Gateway a truly world class transportation system. We will continue to build our infrastructure to create a bright future and new jobs for British Columbians and Canadians alike.

Blair Lekstrom

Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure

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