Manitoba Heavy Construction Association

A SUPPLEMENT TO THE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2022 5 Diane Gray T he last two-plus years have been hard on the trade, transportation and shipping sectors, as the pandemic's impact tangled businesses and productivity in supply-chain and delivery backlogs. Emerging from the pandemic, we should remember how vulnerable our economy is to such disruptions. At CentrePort Canada, we did not slow down. In fact, we forged ahead, seeing more than $57 million in development permits issued, with 400,000 square feet of new construction underway. Land sales continue to outperform expectations. That illustrates how vital efficient shipping – getting supplies in and products out – is to manufacturers. But it is also testament to the vision behind CentrePort Canada: North America's largest trimodal inland port, and the northern hub of the mid-continental trade and transportation corridor. CentrePort Canada is served by three Class 1 rail carriers, an international trucking hub and an airport rated #1 in Canada for dedicated cargo freighter flights. That transportation and shipping connectivity serves as a model for meeting and overcoming the next supply-chain disrupter – be it a virus, extreme weather or other events that roil our economy. And while 2021 was a good year for CentrePort Canada, the next years look very exciting. First, to date much of the development has happened in CentrePort North, largely in the RM of Rosser. However, the City of Winnipeg in its 2022 Capital Budget included $20 million towards servicing CentrePort South, to start the discussion with Manitoba and Canada for cost- sharing of water and wastewater infrastructure. Servicing takes a big step toward fully realizing the employment potential of these lands and attract further development investment. Second, the CentrePort Rail Park, set to begin construction in summer 2022, is perfectly located for companies that manage part of their supply chain by rail. CP Rail runs through CentrePort Canada and will be connected to the 665-acre rail park. CP's recent purchase of the Kansas City Southern and Kansas City Southern Mexico will create the first single-line rail network connecting US-Mexico-Canada and open new options for domestic intermodal shipments – a game changer for rail shipments across the continent. The CPKC rail network creates a 20,000-mile, integrated rail corridor. This will allow companies to reduce their transportation costs, eliminate offloading and reloading of goods in transit, and better manage their supply chains. These "next phases" will move the inland port closer to the full build out behind the vision of CentrePort Canada. The momentum is elevating our province on the lists of site-locators, as a preferred location for value- added agribusiness production facilities, advanced manufacturing companies, and e-commerce, warehousing and distribution services land developers and corporations looking to build new processing and manufacturing plants. Awareness of Manitoba as a location for investment has increased as companies look to stabilize their supply chains, minimize disruptions to their business and source both customers and suppliers from within their local market. These dividends to the province will only increase as CentrePort Canada moves closer to its full build-out, the economic impact of which includes 98,377 person- years of employment, $1.18 billion in provincial tax revenue and a $7.9-billion boost to Manitoba's GDP. CentrePort Canada's growing and that's GOOD for MANITOBA Diane Gray is the President of CentrePort Canada CN Rail Lines BNSF Rail Lines Hudson Bay Railway Kansas City Southern Highway Routes CP Rail Lines C A N A D A ' S C E N T R E F O R G L O B A L T R A D E CentrePortCanada.ca Prince Rupert Rankin Inlet Churchill Thompson Quebec Halifax Montreal Ottawa Toronto Windsor Detroit Chicago Des Moines Kansas City Dallas New Orleans Guanajuato Manzanillo Lazaro Cardenas San Antonio Fort Worth Minneapolis–St.Paul Vancouver Edmonton Calgary Saskatoon Winnipeg Regina Access to North American Markets CentrePort Canada 4Tracks Ltd. -- $12.5 million dollar, 27,000 sq ft headquarters and terminal. AVAAL Business Park -- three multi-tenant industrial buildings with 165,000 sq ft for lease. BrookPort Business Park – 250 acres of fully-serviced industrial land that has become home to at least a dozen new companies over the last two years. CentrePort Canada Rail Park -- 665-acre rail-served, industrial development that will break ground in summer 2022. Merit Functional Foods -- a 94,000 sq ft pea and canola protein processing plant; the world's only commercial-scale facility capable of producing food-grade canola protein. MMI Asset Management -- opened Steele Business Park, a 17-acre industrial park that will bring 220,000 sq ft of industrial space to the market. National Research Council of Canada -- $62-million advanced manufacturing research facility is nearing completion; to focus on additive manufacturing and sustainable packaging research. Nutrien -- 100,000 sq ft distribution centre in BrookPort Business Park. O Foods Ltd – construction is underway on Paterson GlobalFoods' $94-million oat processing facility; to process 125,000 metric tonnes of oats from Western Canadian farmers. Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada – set to open in May 2022. TFI International -- 70,000 sq ft warehouse and distribution facility adjacent to their current location on Oak Point Highway. West Creek Industrial Park – under construction by Hopewell Development, will bring 295,000 sq ft of industrial space to the market. Recent highlights at CentrePort:

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