MELFORD: The spokesperson for a local terminal project said project backers are still waiting to hear on a carrier agreement.
Richie Mann, vice president of marketing for Melford International Terminal, said backers continue to move forward with the Melford Atlantic Gateway project. When asked for a timeline, he said the company has to hear from carrier operators before moving forward on the construction process.
“Our hope would be that maybe sometime this year we can be in that position but that’s not entirely determined by us,” said Mann. “We’ll be working very hard to make it happen but we need others at the table with us to do that.”
In June of last year, Melford International Terminal and Cyrus Capital Partners, the majority owner of MIT, announced a joint venture and investment with SSA Marine in the newly dubbed Melford Atlantic Gateway, a 315-acre container terminal, with 250 acres of logistics park lands and the corridor necessary to build 32 kilometers of rail spur to connect with the existing rail line. Since then, said Mann, backers have focused on being able “to put a proposal in front of the people we have to put a proposal in front of.”
“We’ve been working with our partner SSA Marine, to do that,” said Mann. “Basically, it’s as it has been. We’re continuing to move forward with putting things into place that have to be in place.”
Mann said that based on industry experts and information they have received from consultants and other “expertise in the industry,” carrier operations are getting to the point where they will make a decision on routes and what ports they will use.
“There is no way of putting a timeline on it until agreements are signed, until the ink is dry on a number of contractual obligations that would be necessary to ensure and remove the risks in moving forward,” said Mann. “We are always hopeful that will happen in the near future but there is no way of saying when that will be.”