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PSA International has signed an investment agreement to acquire 60% of the Ashcroft Terminal (AT) business, marking its entry to the Canadian market.
AT is an inland port facility in western Canada, located approximately 300 km east of the Port of Vancouver (PoV), comprising 320 acres of free-hold industrial land.
It is the only major privately-owned industrial property in Canada where both Class 1 railroad lines – including Canadian National (CN) Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway – run through, transporting import and export cargoes to and from the POV, across Canada and as far as Chicago and other North American markets.
AT is also located close to the major highways of British Columbia that serve much of the province’s resource industries.
Tan Chong Meng, group CEO of PSA, said: “AT is PSA’s first foray into Canada and offers us an entry point into the hinterland supply chain for the North American market, as well as an opportunity to increase our capabilities in intermodal and inland container depot (ICD) operations.
“The terminal’s strategic location allows us to establish a common user ICD and provide greater options to cargo owners and consignees,” he added.
AT currently services all sectors of the natural resource industries which include agriculture, mining, forestry and oil and gas; by providing transloading, fleet management, railcar storage and logistics solutions.
A recently announced CAD$28m (US$21m) upgrade will further strengthen its inland port and container handling capabilities, as the terminal is slated to receive a new rail link to the CN main line, additional rail track of existing infrastructure, an internal road system and a multi-commodity storage facility.
Transport Canada, through the National Trade Corridors Fund will provide a grant of up to CAD$9.2m (US$7.1m) representing one third of the cost of the project.