Vancouver port authority advances massive Class I-served container terminal project
12/16/2025
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
For over a decade, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) has worked to develop a new three-berth container terminal at the Port of Vancouver’s Roberts Bank area in Delta, British Columbia. Dubbed the Roberts Bank Terminal 2, the more than 300-acre, rail-served facility would provide the port 2.4 million more units of container capacity annually.
The VFPA has made strides in advancing the more than C$3 billion terminal over the years and recently marked a major milestone for the project: the selection of three shortlisted/qualified construction teams that will bid on the landmass/wharf and rail components of Roberts Bank Terminal 2.
To be located about 22 miles from Vancouver, the terminal will increase Canada’s West Coast container capacity by more than 30% and feature state-of-the art facilities and operations. Project components include a new land mass and wharf structure and a widened causeway for additional road and rail infrastructure.
The rail infrastructure will include a new intermodal rail yard and additional terminal support rail yards along the expanded causeway. Roberts Bank Terminal 2 will be served by BNSF Railway, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CN.
Construction is expected to start in 2028, with infrastructure work beginning in earnest in the late 2020s. Terminal operations are projected to begin in the mid-2030s.
“Once complete, the terminal will benefit from comprehensive, resilient and cost-competitive rail access through three Class I railways, and direct access to a robust local network of off-dock container handling, transload and other trade-supporting facilities,” said VFPA spokesperson Arpen Rana in an email.
The three shortlisted construction teams are KLJ Partnership including Kiewit Construction Services ULC, Ledcor CMI Ltd. and Jan de Nul nv; Pacific Gateway Partners including Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd and EllisDon Corp.; and TerraMarine including FlatironDragados Canada Inc., Van Oord Canada Ltd., Aecon Constructors and Carlson Construction Group Inc.
The Port of Vancouver is Canada’s largest port and the fourth largest in North America as measured by tons. The port is managed by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, which was created in 2008.Vancouver Fraser Port AuthorityEach team demonstrated a strong record of collaborative, large-scale infrastructure delivery in marine environments with similar technical, logistical, environmental and regulatory requirements as the Roberts Bank Terminal 2, as well as experience working with First Nations, according to VFPA officials.
The teams must submit their proposals by May 2026. The preferred team will be selected in summer 2026, with construction planning and early work starting later in 2026 and concluding in 2028, according to the project’s schedule.
The chosen team will construct the terminal in two phases. The first phase will involve the construction of the landmass and wharf, including the expanded causeway.
“The selected contractor will be required to interface with rail companies, as there are additional ancillary works that will be procured in the future and delivered in parallel, such as a new roadway overpass system to connect the new marine terminal to the causeway access road, with related rail relocation and civil works,” Rana said.
The second phase will involve the construction of the terminal infrastructure, including the new rail infrastructure.
Roberts Bank Terminal 2 will help catalyze Canada’s trade diversification goals and unlock $100 billion of container trade capacity annually, helping to strengthen the country’s economy and trade resilience, Canadian federal officials say. The project entered a federal environmental assessment process in 2013, and the federal and provincial governments approved the project in 2023.
The new container terminal will feature a new intermodal rail yard and additional terminal support rail yards along an expanded causeway (as shown in this rendering).Vancouver Fraser Port AuthorityTo prepare for Roberts Bank Terminal 2, the VFPA previously completed a new South Fraser perimeter road in 2013 to improve connections to major highways; Roberts Bank rail corridor improvements in 2014 to bolster track; and a Deltaport truck staging facility in 2020 to create a dedicated staging area for container traffic at Roberts Bank.
The port authority has been planning for increased container capacity at the Port of Vancouver for the past few decades, Rana said. The VFPA completed the Deltaport’s third berth, terminal road and rail improvements in 2010, and expanded the Centerm terminal in 2023.
