Expansion of Delta鈥檚 container port is set to take a 鈥渟ignificant step鈥� forward next month.
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority recently announced it will issue a request for qualifications this July for a construction partner to deliver the landmass and wharf component of the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project (RBT2), a three-berth expansion of the Port of Vancouver鈥檚 largest container terminal.
RBT2 would transform more than 1.7 square kilometres of subtidal and tidal waters into a facility capable of handling 260 ships and more than 2.4 million containers a year, increasing the port鈥檚 capacity by 50 per cent.
The project would also involve widening the existing causeway to accommodate additional rail infrastructure, adding road connections and utilities, and expanding the existing tug-boat basin.
Led by the port authority, RBT2 is separate from the proposed GCT Deltaport Berth 4 Expansion (DP4), which would see a fourth berth added to the current Global Container Terminals-operated facility and include an expansion of the intermodal rail yard along the causeway and dredging to provide safe access for ships.
According to the DP4 project page on the Government of Canada's website, the additional land-based container storage and handling facilities would provide an additional two million 20-foot long storage containers per year at GTC Deltaport.
The DP4 expansion is being proposed by GTC Canada without involvement from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. The project is currently undergoing an impact assessment by an independent review panel at the behest of the federal minister of environment and climate change. The panel is expected to submit its report to the minister by Feb. 6, 2028, with a decision on whether to approve the project anticipated on April 20, 2029.
In its RBT2 procurement notice, the port authority called the expansion a 鈥渢ransformational, nation building project that will support Canada鈥檚 economic security and trade resilience, enabling the trade of more than $100 billion in goods annually once fully operational.鈥�
It鈥檚 anticipated the project will create more than 18,000 jobs during construction, and generate over 17,000 鈥渨ell-paying, long-term鈥� jobs once it is up and running, adding more than $3 billion in GDP annually.
鈥淏ased on ongoing discussions with industry, the port authority will pursue a progressive design-build procurement model. This approach will allow for greater flexibility in the design process, strengthen collaboration, and enhance cost and schedule certainty,鈥� reads the authority鈥檚 notice.
鈥淭he contract will include the delivery of a marine terminal landmass, wharf structure and berth pocket, widened causeway, expanded tug basin, and environmental mitigation and offsetting projects. Procurement opportunities for other components of the project will be available in the coming years.鈥�
The port authority is looking for construction partners who have a strong record in the collaborative delivery of large-scale infrastructure projects in marine environments with similar technical, logistical, environmental and regulatory requirements, and who have demonstrated experience developing and delivering on commitments to First Nations.
At the conclusion of the request-for-qualifications process, three groups will be invited to participate in a request for proposals for a design and early works agreement (DEWA) that outlines the activities and requirements for the development phase in order to inform the final investment decision.
鈥淥nce works under the DEWA have sufficiently advanced 鈥� and following a successful final investment decision by the port authority 鈥� a target price design-build agreement will be executed with the selected construction partner and the construction phase will begin,鈥� the notice states.
RBT2 received and approval in 2023 following the conclusion of the governments鈥� respective environmental assessment processes.
In 2024, the port authority submitted a Species at Risk Act-compliant Fisheries Act Authorization application to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, with a joint commitment from government and regulators that a decision will come no later than October of 2026.
Construction mobilization and early works are expected to occur in 2027, with major land reclamation works expected to begin in 2028.
Operations at Roberts Bank Terminal 2 are expected to begin in the mid-2030s.