Ground breaking for phase two of YYC cargo centre
Posted Jul 5, 2011 1:52 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The second phase of a massive cargo and business park at Calgary International Airport is underway following a ground breaking ceremony Tuesday morning.
The project connects commercial air cargo and logistics business in a single location.
“We’ve established ourselves, and won many awards on a global scale over the last 10 years,” says Airport VP Stephan Poirier,and now Calgary is truly established as the Western Canadian distribution centre.”
At 330 acres and nearly two million square feet of warehouse, Poirier says the business park will eventually be ten times the size of all other Canadian airport cargo parks combined. It is the culmination of a long-term plan for cargo and logistics which was first developed in 2001.
The site offers easy access for cargo shipping, whether it’s by air or highway.
“Deerfoot Trail links Alaska all the way down to Mexico City,” notes Poirier. “So it’s a very, very competitive position.”
That will mean jobs and millions of dollars for the local economy.
“It’s all because of the supply chain,” says Poirier. “Supply chains are always in motion, and we provide the platform that they need to compete globally. It works both ways: on the import side” (and) “on the export side as well.”
Poirier says while it’s not as glamorous as passenger travel, it’s the cargo business that drives the airport, adding the new development will make Calgary the premiere cargo centre in all of Western Canada.
By the time it’s complete in five years, it’s estimated the park will contribute half-a-billion dollars and 3,000 jobs to Calgary’s economy.
