On May 28, 2019, the Québec Port Authority (QPA) announced a long-term commercial agreement with Hutchison Ports and the Canadian National Railway (CN) to build and operate a new deepwater container terminal known as Project Laurentia.
Project Laurentia has a unique strategic location, with water depths that will allow Neo-Panamax container ships to deliver imports and load exports traversing the Atlantic Ocean through a rail-served port on the Saint Lawrence River, with efficient rail connections to and from markets in Ontario, Prairie Provinces, and Great Lakes/US Midwest states. The container terminal is planned for an annual throughput capacity of 700,000 TEUs at the completion of its first phase in 2023, and for 1.6 million TEUs after completion of its final phase of development.
Mercator International LLC served as the commercial advisor to the QPA for this $775 million project, which will be financed primarily through the joint investment of the three partners. Mercator’s work included market analysis and forecasting, assessment of container liner services operating on the St. Lawrence corridor, evaluation of vessel network costs and rail costs, and the economic advantages of routing containers via the new terminal.
Mercator is the trusted, independent, and experienced advisor to stakeholders across the transportation sector, and has provided transaction advisory services on transportation assets around the globe, including over 85 container terminals for more than 30 infrastructure investment funds, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds.
More information at: https://mercatorintl.wpengine.com
