Track being laid to Manitoba’s inland port for anchor tenant BroadGrain
by The Canadian Press
The family-owned agribusiness is spending up to $25 million to build a bulk export-loading operation and bean-processing facility
WINNIPEG—Toronto-based grain handler and marketer BroadGrain Commodities Inc., will be an anchor tenant in a new rail installation that’s set to break ground at Manitoba’s inland port near Winnipeg.
The family-owned agribusiness is spending up to $25 million to build a bulk export-loading operation and bean-processing facility, which the Manitoba government says will help pave the way for construction of the CentrePort Canada Rail Park.
The operation will occupy nearly 12 hectares and will involve loading 150-car unit trains with Manitoba commodities, including wheat, canola, soybeans, corn and specialty crops.
CentrePort will spend $2.4 million on switches and tracks to link the operation to the Canadian Pacific Railway mainline.
The Manitoba government is providing tax increment financing revenue from its Community Revitalization Fund to assist with the rail link, and is also realigning Provincial Road 221 to aid development of the park.
The facility will also act as the western Canadian flagship terminal for BroadGrain, which has offices in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
CentrePort Canada is a nearly 8,100-hectare inland port and foreign trade zone located on Winnipeg’s northwest side. The rail park is being built in phases on more than 280 hectares just south of the CP mainline.
Diane Gray, president and CEO of CentrePort, said in a release that BroadGrain’s project is an ideal anchor for the park.
“They are in need of high-volume rail services in order to move the highest quality of products, which ultimately is the objective of our first phase of development,” she said.
Zaid Qadoumi, BroadGrain’s president and CEO, said in the same release that supply-chain management continues to play an important role in the business.
“This investment will solidify our ongoing commitment not only to the western Canadian farmer, but also to our global consumers providing an alternative shipping method.”
