Centerm expansion project full steam ahead

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is pushing ahead with the construction of the Centerm Expansion Project, which will increase the port’s capacity from 900,000 TEUs to 1.5 million.

In their latest update, the port officials announced that the second phase of preload in the western expansion area is ongoing.

“Infilling and preload placement in the western expansion area was completed in December 2020, and the second phase of preload is ongoing. We expect to remove the preload in the spring,” the port officials said.

They also added that the ground behind the new caissons is being compacted, known as densification, to make it strong enough to support the new quay crane rail.

Last month, the contractors completed work for shore power and construction on the existing quay crane rails at Berth 6. Berth 6 is located at the western end of the terminal.

Extended work hours request under review

The project team has submitted a request to the port authority Project and Environmental Review team to amend the construction permit to continue to conduct certain land-based construction and physical activities on the terminal between May 1 and October 31, 2021.

If the permit amendment request is approved, work will continue to take place 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

This port expansion project, being delivered by Centennial Expansion Partners (CXP), has completion date of 2022.

It can be hard to visualize just how much the terminal has changed in the past year and a half. Watch a new time-lapse video showing the construction of the western expansion area.