By Alec Bruce, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Guysborough Journal
MIDDLE MELFORD: After nearly two decades, the vice president of marketing for the Melford International Terminal says he does not “anticipate difficulty in getting an additional two-year extension” from the provincial government before starting construction on the project near Mulgrave.
Richie Mann, also a former minister of economic development and transportation for the province, confirmed in a telephone interview with The Journal that Melford International Terminal, a private consortium, has applied for its seventh continuation in 17 years of the provincial work order, whose latest iteration officially ended at the end of October.
‘’The application went in,” he said. “Mostly for global reasons, the situation changes, so we determined that we would probably require an additional extension and that’s why we requested it at this time…. There’s not a reason [for the provincial government] not to be supportive [in] consideration of all the work we’ve done, the land we’ve assembled…. They’ve always identified the project as extremely valuable to the province and the area.”
Since 2007 – when Melford International purchased a 315-acre plot of provincially owned industrial land next to ice-free waters deep enough to accommodate the new generation of large container ships and bulk carriers – some critics have questioned the need for another deepwater port on the East Coast.
Proponents, however, have remained bullish, pointing out that containerized traffic is forecast to triple by 2035.
“Shippers and cargo owners continue to seek stable and reliable supply chain routes and are increasingly having goods sent directly to east coast ports via the Suez Canal,” according to information on the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG’s) website. “Transatlantic and Suez routings will reduce voyage transit times and fuel consumption by using the Melford gateway to Canada and the United States.”
Mann said global circumstances in recent years, such as the cost of doing business and shifting shipping routes has “changed the rationale, if you will, or pushed it down the road a bit. But we have never gone through a period when the global implications haven’t continued to make sense to develop the Melford Terminal [in the long run]. It makes sense now, or we would have gone away a long time ago.”
Mann also said the latest onshore and offshore wind developments in the MODG presents new opportunities for the terminal.
“Our focus will be on containers,” he said. “But, as we develop the site, we will not be utilizing [all of it] in the initial phase for containers; there will be a significant part of the footprint that can be developed to service and accommodate the renewable sector. We can absolutely provide benefits to those industries. In fact, we are in discussions with people involved in those industries.”
The project received its most recent extension in February 2023.
“Every time we get an extension, we certainly intend to start construction within that period,” said Mann, who expects to hear shortly about the latest application.