[Wishblade]

I figured I would start a thread pertaining to developments at the Seaport facilities in the HRM. Here is an article stating that port traffic continues to climb:

Halifax cargo traffic up 11.8% in Q2
By BILL POWER Business Reporter
Thu, Jul 21 - 4:56 AM

Cargo traffic through the Port of Halifax continues a slow climb out of the recession.

Numbers for the second quarter of 2011 show an 11.8 per cent increase in cargo traffic at the port over the same quarter in 2010.

"We’re not dealing with a grand change here, but it is encouraging," spokeswoman Michele Peveril said in an interview...

read more here: http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1254334.html

[q12]

Source: Halifax ship bid on course
Warship contract worth $25 billion
thechronicleherald.ca
By CHRIS LAMBIE Business Editor
Fri, Jul 22 - 4:54 AM

Halifax looks like the front-runner for a $25-billion contract to build about 20 warships, an Ottawa insider says.

Read more here:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1254511.html

After reading this article it looks like this should be an easy win for Halifax, since it seems to be the only facility capable of building the big war ships and also has a large enough ship building workforce. This is huge news for the economy of Halifax, Nova Scotia and even the Maritimes.

[someone123]

I'm optimistic about the larger contract. Halifax does seem like a frontrunner when political considerations are removed from the equation. The Davie yard is sketchy -- if I were a government official seriously interested in a successful project I'd prefer a bidder with a successful track record, all else being equal. And it's not clear that Davie has any particularly significant advantages.

Halifax also has the advantage of being Canadian-owned, whereas Davie apparently needs a foreign buyer. Do we really want a foreign business running shipyards that build warships for the military?

If the $25B contract is awarded to Irving it will be huge for the region. I could see there being significant spinoff effects from the new investment and talent.

[Wishblade]

$73M upgrade underway at Richmond Terminals

A $73-million upgrade is taking place at the Richmond Terminals, including the installation of a new road, three railway tracks and a 550-metre pier.

"It's part of improving our competitiveness," said Michele Peveril, a spokeswoman for the Halifax Port Authority.

"This Richmond upgrade gives us the chance to move cargo around and handle it at this end of town in the next decade or two as volumes increase."

The Richmond Terminals in the north end of Halifax is a common-user facility that handles break bulk cargo, or cargo that can't fit into a 20-feet container. Right now, much of that is landed in another part of the port, at piers that may have to be converted to handle containers.


link here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/09/08/ns-richmond-terminals-upgrade.html

[Wishblade]

I found a couple of articles stating that Halterm will be receiving 2 new super post-panamax cranes in June:

http://blog.halifaxshippingnews.ca/2013/02/more-halterm-crane-details.html

http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2013/02/new-halterm-cranes-coming-this-summer.html

[Ziobrop]

Addtional Articles that may be of Interest:
Expansion Plans For Pier 9
http://blog.halifaxshippingnews.ca/2012/05/whats-going-on-at-pier-9.html

you can also keep tabs on the expansion work at halifax shipyards at http://blog.halifaxshippingnews.ca/search/label/Halifax%20Shipyard

[macgregor]

This older newsletter to local residents shows the redevelopment also:

http://www.portofhalifax.ca/english/port-facilities/infrastructure/documents/April-Letter-2012.pdf