Contrecoeur: A Unique, Top-Tier, Ready-to-Go Project in a Growing Market
The Port of Montreal is experiencing a historic growth of container traffic for the past 7 years. To accommodate additional container capacity, a dedicated container terminal will be built at the Contrecoeur site, within the Montreal Metropolitan Area. The terminal will be fully connected to the regional transportation hub, including a Class 1 railroad and highway connections.
Interested port terminal operators are invited to familiarize themselves with the Project and participate in the procurement process.
Contrecoeur Project Summary (PDF)
Over the past 45 years, the Port of Montreal has grown from handling 750 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) vessels to harbouring Post-Panamax size vessels (over 6,000 TEU). A deep river port, thousand miles inland, Montreal is a commercial hub that can reach 110 million consumers from Quebec, Ontario and the industrial heartland of the US Midwest within less than 48 hours. In 2019, the Port of Montreal handled over 40 million tonnes of dry and liquid bulk, general and containerized cargo, including more than 1.75 million TEU. The hub includes 9 bulk terminals, 4 general cargo terminals and 3 cruise terminals as well as 5 container terminals (4 of them for international cargo). The unique position of the Port of Montreal makes it an efficient destination port with ships fully unloaded and loaded, handling containers for/from both the Canadian and US market. The Port of Montreal handles on average twice as many containers per trip as the US East Coast (4,250 vs 2,180) and benefits from shipping services by 6 of the world’s major carriers. With expected growing volumes of containerized cargo flows to/from North America, the new terminal represents an opportunity to position strategically in a high-traffic region.Capture the Containerized Market
Project Scope
The new container terminal will have a capacity of 1.15 million TEUs, within an industrial area already in operation and with secured land for potential expansions up to 3.5 million TEU. Preliminary commissioning is expected by 2026.
The planning of the project reached several key milestones, in addition to securing state-sponsored financial support:
Financing and Subsidies
- Financial participation of the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) with up to CAD $300 million long-term loan (subordinated debt) at very competitive rates.
- Subsidy of CAD $55 million from the Government of Quebec.
- High interest from public and private financing entities of Quebec.
- Estimated low cost per TEU: CAD $826 (USD $652—Exchange rate of September 16, 2021).
Costs
- Estimated total CAPEX of CAD $950 million.
Critical Milestones Reached
- Land secured and extensive geotechnical surveying completed.
- Favourable decision statement by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Canada.
- Pre-design completed.
- Major rail and road access immediately available.
- Thorough public consultation process and frequent outreach events.
- Strong government (Federal and Provincial) and municipal support.
Planned infrastructure
The project aims to install modern and innovative infrastructure, which will include among others:
- Automatic gates for reduced processing time per truck.
- Truck Control Area.
- Intermodal Yard to reduce rail shunting and optimize order switching.
- Container Yard with temporary storage and handling area designed to increase productivity, reduce moves per box, and maximize stack density.
Capacity:
- Two berths with total length of 675 m.
- Container yard of 26 ha.
Connectivity:
- Intermodal rail yard and marshalling yard of 24 ha.
- Road and rail infrastructure of 21.5 ha.
- On-site connection to Class 1 rail network.
- Proximity to Highway 30.
Procurement process timeline
Q4 2021
Q2 2022
Q2 2002
Q3 2023
Q&A
Why choose a DBFOM delivery model for the project?
DBFOM (Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain) delivery model has been chosen as it allows securing the delivery of projects’ objectives for all interested parties. The method brings private sector expertise, know-how and financing, minimizes costs overruns, and is a proven delivery model for major infrastructure projects.
To complete such a large-scale project, it is necessary to bring in a consortium of companies led by an experienced shipping line and/or terminal operator. DBFOM delivery model is best suited to structure efficient relationships between the Montreal Port Authority and private partners.
When will the request for qualifications be launched?
The request for qualification is expected to be launched during the fourth quarter of 2021. Qualified proponents will be announced in the second quarter of 2022.
How could my company participate in the construction and operation phases of the project?
If your company provides services and/or goods for port terminal construction and/or operation, the best way to participate would be to partner with leading construction and/or operational companies interested by the project.
Will local companies of Quebec be prioritized by the procurement process?
The selection of companies will be based on the experience of the partner interested in the project, which could include local companies (Quebec and Canada) in its business model.
What types of goods and services might be of interest to the project?
On each stage of the project delivery, there are many goods and services to be provided. These include, among other things, engineering, and construction services, including geotechnical research update, materials for the construction of the terminal, port operation equipment, or administrative support materials.
Companies interested in the new terminal project in Contrecoeur are welcome to contact us at For more information and news on the project, click here: Contrecoeur project - News updatesContacts