The Goderich Port Management Corporation wants to expand the Goderich port, taking advantage of the space in the area.
Rowland Howe, president of the Goderich Port Management Corporation, said it is the only deep water port on the east side of Lake Huron that has the potential to develop and grow. They added four acres of land to the port a few years ago as part of a 15-acre expansion and they hope to continue that.
“We built the first four acres because we had no room to grow our business and as soon as we built them it was taken up," said Howe. "Tomlinson and Aggregate Business out of Bruce Mines took the lease on it so we still have no room and there's lots of opportunities out there that we want to make sure that we're in a good position to capture.”
The Goderich port sits almost in the middle of the St. Lawrence Seaway system, according to Howe.
“People move material by boat all around the Great Lakes but the system extends beyond the Lakes out on the St. Lawrence and once you're out the St. Lawrence anywhere in the world, but Europe, is not very far away either," he said. "So it really does link us together with the world outside of the Lake system.”
Howe noted there was about 36 million tons of cargo on the Lakes last year.
"Certainly shipping is about ten times more efficient than trucking in terms of carbon footprint, so it's good economics, it's good business, and it's good for the environment,” said Howe.
They still have the plan and environmental assessment for the original 15-acre proposal, but before they can proceed any further, they have to secure more funding.
Howe hopes they can take advantage of the Federal National Trade Corridor Fund, which provides funding for exactly what they're hoping to do. He said they're hoping the federal government would put in about $23.5 million, and they would match that.
They've already have about $10 million, so they'd have to raise another $13.5 million. Howe says the provincial government has some programs that could help them and Ontario has plans to move towards marine transportation, so he's optimistic they will be able to add to the port.