Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for this opportunity to address the Government of Canada's Standing Committee on Finance.
First, I would like to welcome all of you to Prince Rupert and the Port of Prince Rupert, which is becoming a household name throughout the international transportation community as a shining star and an example of how ports can create economic wealth and prosperity.
I think it's very significant that this committee has come here today to witness first-hand the type of economic growth that can be created through the strategic investment of public funds in ports and infrastructure. During the next five minutes I will propose that continued investment by the Government of Canada in the Port of Prince Rupert and the Asia-Pacific gateway and corridor initiative will continue to unleash the full economic potential of Canada's trade with Asian economies.
The year 2007 was a watershed year in the port's history, with the conversion of the Fairview facility into a highly efficient container terminal. I need to emphasize at this point that this capital project was to become the first investment by the federal and provincial governments into what is now referred to as Canada's Pacific gateway. It has made a profound and extraordinary impact on this community and the rest of western Canada, as it ushered in an amazing period of growth that has continued relentlessly despite the global recession.
In the 45 months of operation since it opened in October 2007, we have experienced an unprecedented 40 months of year-over-year growth in container volume. Last year, the Port of Prince Rupert was recognized as the fastest-growing container terminal in North America and the eighth-fastest in the world.
In 2004, and once again with the financial support of federal and provincial governments, we built and opened a new cruise ship terminal on the downtown waterfront. It was an immediate success and during its peak year attracted over 110,000 cruise passengers to this community. The direct impact on the city's tourism retail business exceeds $4.5 million annually, and when passengers come onshore this city's population increases by nearly 20%. You can imagine the economic impact that has.
Today the Port of Prince Rupert serves as the North American gateway of the northwest transportation corridor. This corridor extends to central Canada and also on to Chicago and beyond to Memphis and New Orleans. It connects the populations and industry of central North America to the rapidly growing Asian economies.
The port has a unique strategic advantage of being the closest North American port to Asia by up to three days' sailing time. In brief, we are located on the shortest land-sea trade link between two of the world's most dynamic economies.
In terms of bulk cargoes, Ridley Terminals Inc., or RTI, which is a federal crown corporation, operates the advanced coal facility on Ridley Island. It has begun a major expansion to its existing facilities that will increase its capacity from the current 12 million tonnes per year to a projected 24 million tonnes per year. A potential second phase of expansion could increase RTI's annual capacity to over 40 million tonnes of capacity, making it the largest bulk handling terminal on the west coast of North America.
This initiative alone has created dozens of local construction jobs. And more importantly, it supports the growth of the mining concerns throughout western Canada. Although we here in Prince Rupert are focused on the 20 to 25 new permanent jobs that will be created at the terminal by this expansion, that is a shadow of the several hundreds of mining jobs and the hundreds of millions of dollars of mining development investment that will be made possible by this additional capacity on Canada's gateway to Asia.
Prince Rupert is an essential component of the federal government's Asia-Pacific gateway and corridor initiative, but currently all terminals on the North American west coast are near capacity and require expansion to facilitate the continued growth of Canada's resource-based economy.
In Canada, in the resource sector, a substantial private investment is planned over the coming years. However, none of these export trade opportunities can be realized for Canada without a gateway, a doorway to international markets. We here at the Port of Prince Rupert are that doorway for Canadian trade.
Without the continued expansion of port infrastructure, Canada's resources and products will be shut out of international markets. It would be like building a grand mansion with many rooms, but with no front door to gain access to its rooms.
But we here at the Port of Prince Rupert have a plan that will ensure that Canada's trade door remains open, and open wide, on the west coast. We have a vision that we refer to as the 20-20 development plan, and once fully realized the Port of Prince Rupert will have the added capacity of over 100 million tonnes to service Canada's expanding trade objectives with Asian markets. Nowhere on the west coast of North America is there greater availability and opportunity for such expansion.
The potential is enormous. The economic spinoffs described earlier with the container terminal pale in comparison to the promise of the 20-20 development plan. As I am sure you are all aware, Canada is primed to take advantage of the increasing trade opportunities with Asia. Seizing these opportunities means wealth and employment for all Canadians, but it also requires strategic investments in Canada's doorway to the world markets: the Port of Prince Rupert.
Thank you very much.