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On Friday, federal, provincial and port officials held a groundbreaking ceremony at the Port of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, to mark the start of construction on the port's $90 million "Road, Rail and Utility Corridor" project.

The port plans to build five parallel tracks, a two-lane roadway and a power distribution system along a five-mile corridor to create shared-use infrastructure for proposed potash and liquefied natural gas terminals on Ridley Island, as well as other potential terminals. The first phase of work is slated for completion in December 2014.

The project is jointly funded by the Canadian and British Columbia governments, which each contributed $15 million, and CN and the Prince Rupert Port Authority, which each committed $30 million.

The largest project in Prince Rupert since construction of the Fairview Container Terminal, the corridor will "connect Canada's proven capacity for resource production to growing markets in the Asia-Pacific region," said Bud Smith, the port authority's chairman, in a prepared statement.

CN's investment in the project will help the port add export capacity and strengthen infrastructure to bring Canadian goods to market, said CN General Manager Doug Ryhorchuk.

"The growing awareness of Prince Rupert as a North American gateway to Asia has created global interest in the port and the northwest region for investment and commerce," he said.

The project's contractors include Prince Rupert Constructors, a joint venture between Coast Tsimshian Enterprises, JJM Construction Ltd. and Emil Anderson Construction Inc.; and Coast Industrial Construction, a partnership between ICON Construction and the Gitxaala Nation.