G3 Canada, Parrish & Heimbecker advance grain facility plans

G3 Canada Ltd. yesterday announced plans to build a grain elevator near Morinville, Alberta.

To be served by CN, the 42,000-ton capacity elevator is designed to load 150-car trains under continuous motion on a loop track. The facility also will be capable of unloading trucks in less than five minutes, G3 Canada officials said in a press release.

Construction is expected to start soon pending regulatory approval, with completion slated for 2020. The elevator is well positioned to move grain to G3 Canada's terminal in Vancouver, British Columbia, a next-generation grain export facility that's also projected to start operations in 2020, company officials said.

"This is part of a growing network of high-efficiency facilities that is speeding up the movement of grain in Canada and around the world," said G3 Canada Chief Executive Officer Don Chapman.

Meanwhile, Parrish & Heimbecker Ltd. (P&H) has partnered with GrainsConnect Canada Operations Inc. to build the Fraser Grain Terminal in Surrey, B.C., near the Port of Vancouver.

P&H received a project permit in November for the new terminal, which will be served by CN and Canadian Pacific. Construction is slated to start by year's end.

Subject to obtaining necessary approvals from relevant competition authorities, GrainsConnect Canada will purchase shares in Fraser Grain Terminal Ltd. The new terminal is projected to handle 4 million tons of export grain and related products annually.