The Prince Rupert Port Authority is commencing construction on its largest infrastructure investment. The Ridley Island Export Logistic Project (RIELP) is a large-scale transloading and logistics facility designed to provide expanded transloading capacity and capabilities at the Canadian port.
The project will consist of a 440,000m² greenfield development on Ridley Island. The facility, which will be developed and operated by Ray-Mont Logistics, will handle rail-to-container transloading for agricultural, forestry, and plastic resin products. The project will also include an expansion of the existing Ridley Island Road Rail Utility Corridor that will facilitate unit trains 3,050 metres in length with direct access to the site from the CN network.
Operations are expected to begin at RIELP in 2026.
Ray-Mont Logistics will develop and operate facilities that provide transloading service capacity for 400,000 TEUs for agricultural, forestry, and plastic resin products. Ray-Mont currently operates a successful multi-product transload facility on a temporary Ridley Island location that has proven the export transload concept in Prince Rupert.
Total capital investment in RIELP will be provided by PRPA, Ray-Mont Logistics, CN, the Government of Canada, and the Government of BC.
RIELP will enable Canadian exporters to Asia Pacific markets with new and creative capabilities. The project’s large scale, unit train capabilities, access to available empty containers, and proximity and integration into container terminal operations make it a one-of-a-kind model that promises to deliver significant new service offerings to exporters, significantly improving the quality, cost, and reliability of container supply chains.
In addition, the construction of the project is completely consistent with PRPA’s land use plan and intermodal development strategy. RIELP will result in higher quantities of loaded export containers travelling through the Port of Prince Rupert, as well as a more sustainable balance in its multimodal import and export commerce.
“The development of this innovative project and its introduction of large-scale export logistics capabilities at the Port will fundamentally improve competitiveness for Canadian exporters, and marks the opening of a new chapter of Prince Rupert intermodal growth. It also demonstrates the strong alignment of our corporate, government and community partners with PRPA’s strategic vision for growing Canadian trade,” commented Shaun Stevenson, president and CEO of Prince Rupert Port Authority.