Face-lift for Port of Windsor
The Windsor Port is key area in the planned $7-billion worth of investments to transform Canada’s most important transportation and trade networks, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway. Approx $60 million has been spent in Windsor to improve infrastructure the last five years.
The investment helps ensure Windsor will remain a key port and vital part of the waterway’s growing success, said David Cree, CEO for the Windsor Port Authority. He hoped the public appreciates the scale of investment to keep the seaway modern and efficient.
New port investment in Windsor includes the new $30-million HMCS Hunter building at the foot of Mill Street and another $30 million spent improving the Sterling Fuel-Miller Aggregates dock in the 3600 block of Russell Street.
The local ports are an important cog in North America’s busiest trade corridor. The Windsor Port had more vessels built (in the last five years) than the past 30 years. The removal of import duty is the main reason for the surge in shipbuilding.
According to a study released by the chamber on Wednesday, more than $4.8-billion was invested in St. Lawrence Seaway navigation systems between 2009 and 2013, and another $2.3-billion will be spent on other improvements by 2018. Most of the money came from private companies that rely on the shipping lane.