Manitoba Heavy Construction Association

4 wednesdaY march 23, 2016 A SUPPLEMENT TO THE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS location is everytHing, and winnipeg's position at tHe Heart of tHe continent Makes it a natural trade and transportation Hub. C entrePort Canada is capitalizing on strategic rail, air and trucking connections at its 20,000-acre development in northwest Winnipeg and the municipality of Rosser. "From CentrePort's perspective, we look at destinations in all four directions," says president and CEO Diane Gray. To the west, the Asia-Pacific Gateway supports trade to the growing Asian markets. To the south, the Mid-Continent Trade and Transportation Corridor is a vital link to the U.S. and Mexico, and Gray notes that it's also a critical gateway to Central and South America. "To the east we're considering European markets and India and then to the north through the Churchill and Arctic gateway there is the potential to further grow trade with Europe because it is the shortest way for Western Canadian goods to reach European markets and vice versa through an ocean connection," she says. "So we look at corridor and gateway development from all four coasts so to speak, and think that given the Canadian federal government's interest in international trade and international trade agreements that a national strategy on gateways and corridors complements that nicely." In 2013, the federal government announced a 10-year, $53 billion New Building Canada Plan. However, a permanent infrastructure strategy would provide predictability, which is important to businesses that are considering investments in equipment and employees. "The challenge for governments at all levels is the budget balancing act, which is how do we manage to achieve our other priorities simultaneously, and things are tradeoffs until often they reach crisis proportions," Gray says. "So I think having in place a long- term national, sustainable, predictable, adequate infrastructure fund program helps to take away some of the uncertainty around what's going to happen in three years when Building Canada expires again." Since its inception in 2009, the inland port has attracted 44 tenants and it plans to add 70 more over the next five years. A $25-million investment in export- and bean-processing facilities from Toronto- based BroadGrain Commodities Inc. has paved the way for speedy development of CentrePort's 700-acre Rail Park, with construction on Phase 1 expected to be underway this spring. The $220-million, 9.1-kilometre CentrePort Canada Way opened in 2013 and the province plans to extend the four-lane expressway to the Trans-Canada Highway near St. Francois Xavier, creating a bypass to ease traffic congestion in Headingley. The federal government has invested more than $1.4 billion in the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative. In partnership with the four western provinces and the private sector, more than $3.5 billion has been invested in road, rail and bridge projects that Risk.Reinsurance.HumanResources. AonRiskSolutions ConstructionServicesGroup BUILD RISK against withAon Makeinformedbusinessdecisionswith cutting-edgeriskandperformance securitysolutions.Aonoffersitsclients: •Atailoredapproachtomanagingrisk •Proactivequarterlyclaimsreviews •Competitiveratesandcoverage •Marketleverage We'reheretoempowerresults. Connectwithamemberofour constructionteamtoday! MichaelByrne 1800-OneLombardPlace Winnipeg,Manitoba R3B2A3 t+1.204.934.0268 new direCtions Strengthening Manitoba's global position centreport canada president and ceo diane gray (above right) has welcomed several new infrastructure projects, including the first phase of centreport canada way (under construction above). "To the east we're considering European markets and India and then to the north through the Churchill and Arctic gateway there is the potential to further grow trade with Europe because it is the shortest way for Western Canadian goods to reach European markets and vice versa through an ocean connection." >>

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