SpongeG
Apr 5, 2007, 4:53 AM
A new deal will see a prime piece of publicly owned B.C. infrastructure fall into foreign hands, says B.C. NDP energy critic John Horgan.
Provincially owned crown corporation B.C. Rail has awarded U.S.-based Kinder Morgan a 40-year lease to operate Vancouver Wharves, a 56-hectare, five-berth terminal at Port of Vancouver that handles more than 3.5 tonnes of cargo annually.
Kinder Morgan will also buy the railway infrastructure, dry bulk and liquid storage, and material systems within the terminal.
With the deal set to close sometime in June, news of the sale "came as quite a surprise," to B.C.'s energy critic.
"My first reaction is there's another piece of profitable infrastructure that's going offshore," John Horgan said yesterday.
"The port facility is in a prime location in one of the busiest ports on the West Coast so this is big deal for Kinder Morgan."
Vancouver Wharves is one of two major sulfur export terminals at the port, and handles key mining minerals such as copper, lead and zinc.
While the deal likely won't impact B.C.'s mining industry, "these are plum assets for a private company and integral to what was a valuable piece of public infrastructure," said Horgan.
Kinder Morgan purchased B.C.'s Teresen Gas Pipelines, Inc. in 2005.
http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/2007/04/04/3914603-sun.html
Provincially owned crown corporation B.C. Rail has awarded U.S.-based Kinder Morgan a 40-year lease to operate Vancouver Wharves, a 56-hectare, five-berth terminal at Port of Vancouver that handles more than 3.5 tonnes of cargo annually.
Kinder Morgan will also buy the railway infrastructure, dry bulk and liquid storage, and material systems within the terminal.
With the deal set to close sometime in June, news of the sale "came as quite a surprise," to B.C.'s energy critic.
"My first reaction is there's another piece of profitable infrastructure that's going offshore," John Horgan said yesterday.
"The port facility is in a prime location in one of the busiest ports on the West Coast so this is big deal for Kinder Morgan."
Vancouver Wharves is one of two major sulfur export terminals at the port, and handles key mining minerals such as copper, lead and zinc.
While the deal likely won't impact B.C.'s mining industry, "these are plum assets for a private company and integral to what was a valuable piece of public infrastructure," said Horgan.
Kinder Morgan purchased B.C.'s Teresen Gas Pipelines, Inc. in 2005.
http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/2007/04/04/3914603-sun.html
