Canada’s Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, Anita Anand, announced an investment of up to $25 million (nearly USD$18 million) for the Halifax Port Authority. This investment bolsters both environmental sustainability and supply chain efficiency through the country’s green shipping corridor program as well as strengthening infrastructure resiliency.
Up to $22.5 million will go to under the Green Shipping Corridor Program to accelerate development of the Halifax-Hamburg green shipping corridor. The investment will help the port prepare to host and potentially refuel alternative fuel-powered vessels; establish a hydrogen production facility; electrify port equipment to reduce emissions; and help acquire an electric rail locomotive and launching an incentive program to shift freight traffic from road to rail.
The other $2.5 million will go to the for the Ship to Shore Crane Infrastructure project, under the National Trade Corridors fund, to relieve supply chain congestion, expand terminal capacity, and increase speed and efficiency when servicing larger vessels at the Port of Halifax.
“Our ports are essential to global trade and to Canada’s economy,” said Hand. “By investing in green shipping corridors, supply chain infrastructure, and clean technologies, we’re taking decisive action to reduce emissions. Together, we’re building a sustainable future for transportation, while supporting jobs and driving economic growth in Nova Scotia and beyond.”
Canada’s Green Shipping Corridor Program provides funding for projects that contribute to the establishment of green shipping corridors and the decarbonization of the marine sector along the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, as well as Canada’s East and West Coasts.
It removes barriers to the adoption of emission-reducing equipment and infrastructure; incentivizes industry-led partnerships and investments to accelerate the adoption of greenhouse gas emission-reduction technologies and infrastructure; decreases the risks of investments made to increase the technology-readiness level of low carbon and net-zero emission ship technology and marine fuels for the domestic vessel fleet; and builds capacity among Canadian vessel owner/operators with respect to their ability to identify, plan and implement next generation low carbon and net-zero emission ship technology and marine fuels into their vessel operations.
