The Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA) has welcomed funding from the Federal Government to support the Port of Oshawa expansion plan.

The $14 million contribution, to be drawn from the National Trade Corridors Fund, was announced by Transport Minister Omar Alghabra recently. It will be added to a $16-million investment from HOPA for the $30-million project to extend the marine infrastructure in Oshawa to accommodate two docked vessels, improve loading and un-loading times, expand storage capacity with the addition of a new grain silo, upgrade roads and improve stormwater management.

“At a time when we are all concerned about the resilience of the supply chain and the need to quickly, efficiently and safely get goods to market, this is welcome support,” says Ian Hamilton, HOPA President and Chief Executive Officer. “A strong Port of Oshawa is important to growing industry across Durham Region and will be particularly important for farmers in the area. We are grateful for the support of Transport Canada and the collaboration of our local stakeholders to bring these planned improvements to fruition.”

The Port of Oshawa Export Expansion Plan will address infrastructure deficiencies at the Port’s East Wharf to increase Canadian exports, improve the efficiency of the port and the performance of the transportation system in the port’s catchment. In particular, the planned improvements will better support grain farmers in Central Ontario, offering a more practical transport solution than trucking their grains across the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area.

Over the coming decades, the growth of Ontario’s grain production for export is expected to increase by two million MT, with at least 300,000 MT expected to be grown within the Port of Oshawa’s catchment area.

Improving grain storage and upgrading the terminal at the Port Oshawa is expected to remove an estimated 12,000 long-distance heavy truck trips from local highways.

(HOPA photo of Oshawa)