In 2018, Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced an investment of $17.7 million in the Port of Hamilton from the National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF). The Federal investment will be matched by the Hamilton Port Authority in support of the port’s $40+ million Westport Modernization Project.
Westport is a 115-acre area located at the west end of the Port of Hamilton. Among the oldest industrial employment areas in the City of Hamilton, the port’s land holdings spanning piers 10-15 were assembled piece-by-piece over many decades. The result is a collection of uses that are not space optimized, with insufficient modal connections.
The Westport Modernization Project will transform Westport into a multi-modal transportation hub. The project will see port lands used more efficiently, and reconfigured to create new employment land development parcels. New transportation infrastructure will improve efficiency and fluidity for port users. Perimeter areas will add landscaping to improve the port-city interface.
The improvements will also help address the challenge the port has been facing in recent years of not having enough development-ready parcels of land to meet the demand from potential port users who want to invest in trade-oriented business in Ontario. “This project is important because the Port of Hamilton is virtually out of room to grow,” says Ian Hamilton, President & CEO of Hamilton Port Authority. “Improvements to the Westport area will optimize the port’s current footprint, create new development parcels, and help Canadian companies get their goods to global markets.”
HPA expects to leverage the investment into $80-90 million in new business attraction.
Primary project investments began in 2019. The project will be completed by December 2020.
As the largest port in Ontario, the Port of Hamilton is the primary marine gateway to the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area (GTHA) and is critical infrastructure for key Ontario industries.
The Westport Modernization Project will help improve transportation capacity and fluidity in southern Ontario. This investment recognizes what a critical trade gateway the Great Lakes are, in serving Canada’s most populated area, and the country’s industrial heartland.