Halifax Port officials meet Chennai Exporters
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FIEO organised an interactive meeting of more than 70 exporters with the visiting officials of Port of Halifax on 11th October at Chennai. Leader of the delegation, Mr. Angus Maclsaac, MLA for Antigonish, while addressing the exporters, informed that the Port of Halifax was the only seaport on the east coast deep enough to accommodate fully laden, post-Panamax vessels. "With seamless inter-modal connections to and from the heartland of North America, the Port of Halifax is Canada’s Atlantic Gateway to the world," he said. According to him, Port of Halifax is the hub - and the home - of a diverse |
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Mr. Angus Maclsaac, MLA for Antigonish and leader of the delegation from Port of Halifax addressing the meeting. On dais, from left, are Ms. Karen Oldfield, President & CEO, Halifax Port Authority; Mr. Ajay Sahai, Director General, FIEO; Mr. A Sathivel, Vice President, FIEO; and Mr. George A Malec, Vice President (Business Development & Operations), Port of Halifax. |
economic and business enterprise, including cargo business, cruise liners, and real estates.
Ms. Karen Oldfield, President & CEO of Halifax Port, while making a presentation on the strengths of the Port, said, "With the deepest container berths on the eastern seaboard of North America, the Port of Halifax can handle the world’s largest container vessels." Port of Halifax is well supported by two modern container terminals with ten gantry cranes; three cranes that can accommodate post-Panamax vessels; a naturally deep harbour, with container berths in the range of 45 to 55 feet; ice-free port with minimal tides and no currents; advanced and comprehensive EDI system, and; excellent land-bridge opportunities to the U.S. and western Canada, she added.
Earlier, while welcoming the visiting Port officials, FIEO Vice President Mr. A. Sakthivel said over the last thirty years, the business of international transport has undergone rapid change. He said, "The recent trend of internationalisaion of production where components are drawn from a variety of countries and brought together ‘just in time’ to meet customers’ demand has profoundly altered the ways and the directions, in which goods move at sea, on land, and indeed, in the air."
Mr. Sakthivel further informed that India was rapidly emerging as Canada’s next big international business bonanza. He said Canada’s current import of 2 billion dollars worth of raw material and merchandise from India is expected to grow by more than 12% a year through the end of the decade.
FIEO Vice President went on to say that Port of Halifax enjoyed a cost advantage to Chicago vis-a-vis the ports of Montreal, New York or Norfolk and said Halifax port would serve as an effective alternate port to New York which faced severe congestion of terminals. He also said that India was closer by sea to Halifax than Vancouver.
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Halifax Port officials who joined the meeting also included Mr. Gerald F. Blom, Vice President (Administration), Port of Halifax, Mr. George A. Malec, Vice President (Business Development & Operations), Port of Halifax, Mr. Janine Fraser, Senior Policy Analyst, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Mr. David B. Oxner, Director, Gateway Programe, Transportation and Public Works, Office of the Deputy Minister, Mr. Cyrus Katgara, Ambassador-India, Halifax Port Authority, Mr. Sachin K. Singh, Manager, Business Development for India Halifax Port Authority. |
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A view of the participants. |
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Art Facilities available at Port of Halifax
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