The path towards the proposed Port Alberni Transhipment Hub became significantly brighter over the weekend as the federal government invited the proponant to apply for a 500-million fund.
Port Alberni Port Authority CEO Zoran Knezevic developed the idea for a container terminal on the Alberni Inlet, and has been pushing the plan in front of political leaders, bureaucrats and investors.
The plan meets the government’s priority of reducing transportation bottlenecks in the lower mainland and throughout the Pacific Northwest economic corridor.
Knezevic said $500 million from Ottawa would be a sizable portion of the $1.6 billion cost.
Knezevic says the shortlisting of the PATH project will help secure the required financing, and his staff will go into high gear to get the full proposal into the Minister of Transportation before the November 6th deadline.