[溫哥華本地新聞] B.C. rolls out new $700 million road, rail plan

increase, between, better, volume, trade

B.C. rolls out new $700 million road, rail plan

Part of plan to forge better trade links to Asia

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/rolls+million+road+rail+plan/6396191/story.html#ixzz1qtYpfXso
Premier Christy Clark will today announce $700 million for transportation projects to help increase the volume of trade B.C. can do with Asia between now and 2020, The Vancouver Sun has learned.
The commitment - which includes mostly major road and rail projects - will be made as Clark releases the transportation portion of her jobs plan at Neptune Bulk Terminals in North Vancouver.
However, the $700-million commitment is only a small part of the transportation strategy, which government sources say will include another $24 billion of transportation-related investments planned by the private sector between now and 2020.
Clark won't announce specific projects planned under the government's part of the strategy, leaving them to be rolled out over coming months, sources said.
But the private-sector projects will be described in detail, including who is funding them, what they are worth and when they will be completed. The private-sector projects will be in several areas, including ports, the movement of rural resources and air passenger and cargo.
In her jobs plan, Clark promised "Gateway 2.0" as the "next step in developing our potential gateway to the Asia Pacific."
The planned program will build on former premier Gordon Campbell's initial Gateway strategy, which included projects such as the South Fraser Perimeter Road and the new Port Mann Bridge.
Today's release of the transportation strategy comes after a major review by government found a need for massive spending between now and 2020 to ensure British Columbia remains a competitive gateway to overseas Asian markets.
The review identified a need for $25 billion in total new investments if the province is going to meet the increasing volumes of overseas trade expected by that time.
Of that, the province will commit $1 billion, which includes the $700 mil-lion Clark is unveiling today, as well about $300 million in other projects already announced.
The already announced provincial projects include the Prince Rupert Road Rail Utility Corridor; the improvement of roads and rail at Deltaport terminal, and an $85-million improvement for oil and gas-related rural roads.
The provincial projects will be in major trade corridors, and are meant to fill gaps the review identified within the planned private-sector investments.
B.C. ports, railways and container terminals help move low-cost goods from Asia into Canada and through-out the U.S. Midwest. The ports also help move bulk goods from western provinces into Asian markets.
The review projected significant increases in trade through B.C. ports.
It says the movement of coal could increase 150 per cent by 2020 (about a 56-million tonne increase); potash by 340 per cent (19 million tonnes); and metals and minerals by 310 per cent (five million tonnes).
The report projects the province will be moving about 18 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas by 2020.
To meet the rising demand, the report identifies a need for the $25 billion in new investments in:
. Major road and rail capacity.
. Rural resource transportation capacity.
. Bulk terminal capacity at B.C. ports.
. Container terminal capacity at B.C. ports
. Air passenger and cargo capacity.