Ports of the Americas

Special Report

DP World, Prime Minister jumpstart stalled Montreal port project

Work on the 1.15 million-TEU Contrecoeur terminal in Montreal is expected to begin in 2026. Montreal Port Authority

By Michael Angell

A long-planned container terminal in Montreal is finally coming to fruition after DP World signed on to develop and operate the facility and the Prime Minister of Canada fasttracked regulatory reviews and approvals for the project.

The Montreal Port Authority( MPA) and global terminal operator DP World will share responsibility for the design and development of the C $ 1.6 billion Contrecoeur container terminal, the two parties said in a joint statement Sept. 8. Underwater work at the facility, which will have an annual throughput capacity of 1.15 million TEUs, will take place next year, with surface work slated to begin in 2027 and terminal operations expected to commence by 2030.

“ It’ s not just a project for the future; it’ s a project that is urgent.”

“ This agreement marks an important milestone in shaping the Port of Montreal’ s future and reinforces Canada’ s role as a gateway for global trade,” Doug Smith, CEO of DP World in Canada, a joint venture between DP World and investment group La Caisse, said in a LinkedIn post. DP World operates the Centerm facility at the Port of Vancouver, as well as the container terminals at the ports of Prince Rupert and Saint John.

Prime Minister Mark Carney officially threw his support behind the Contrecoeur terminal by listing it among the first five projects referred to the newly created Major Projects Office( MPO), the aim of which is to“ fast-track nation-building projects by streamlining regulatory assessment and approvals and helping to structure financing,” according to a Sept. 11 statement from Carney’ s office.

“ This is a defining moment for Canada,” Dawn Farrell, CEO of the MPO, said in the statement.“ To get to‘ one project, one review, one decision’ will set Canada apart globally and will attract enormous inflows of capital.”

Julie Gascon, CEO and president of MPA, said the need to diversify away from US trade due to high tariffs has only added more momentum to the project.

“ If there is a 6 % shift of Canadian exports from us to other international markets, Montreal would reach capacity very, very quickly, so it’ s not just a project for the future, it’ s a project that is urgent,” Gascon said during a Journal of Commerce webcast on May 22.

Regaining momentum

Thanks to its location further up the St. Lawrence River, land the MPA purchased in the 1980s, the Contrecoeur will be able to handle larger ships than the 8,000-TEU vessels that can call at Montreal.

The workhorse vessels serving Montreal’ s four existing containers terminals, which are operated by Montreal Gateway Terminals Partnership and Termont Montreal, range in capacity from 4,000 to 5,000 TEUs. The port authority is working with federal agencies and river pilots to trial navigation of larger ships on the St. Lawrence River.

The Contrecoeur project hit a major roadblock in 2023, when several terminal operators decided not to participate in bidding for the terminal’ s concession, in part because of the cost of the underwater work. In the planning stages for more than a decade, total estimated costs have risen to C $ 1.57 billion from C $ 1 billion during that time.

Since the failed attempt to attract bidders, the federal and provincial Quebec governments have provided roughly C $ 280 million in additional funding for the project.

Sporadic labor issues and the Port of New York and New Jersey’ s ability to attract more exports from the Midwest have contributed to volume declines at Montreal in recent years. The second-largest container port in Canada by capacity handled roughly 750,500 TEUs of laden and empty boxes in 2024, down 1 % from 2023 and 8.9 % from 2020, according to MPA data. But in the first seven months of 2025, container throughput at Montreal has climbed 6.5 % year over year.

email: michael. angell @ spglobal. com

56 Journal of Commerce | October 6, 2025 www. joc. com