WINNIPEG, MB – Development of Canada’s first and largest tri-modal inland port and Foreign Trade Zone has gotten a shot in the arm with the company Manitoba Hydro announcing a new project that will extend natural gas service and other utilities to CentrePort’s 20,000-acre footprint.

Construction is now underway on the new natural gas pipeline, which will provide heating and help to supply fuel for use in key industries such as manufacturing, according to the company

Diane Gray, president and CEO of CentrePort Canada Inc., said the hydro project will help power new business growth at CentrePort, where 42 companies have either built or are building new operations on more than 220 acres.

“Investor interest in CentrePort is strong and providing services to the area is a critical part of our effort to bring new lands to market,” Gray said.

Manitoba Hydro is partnering with other companies for portions of the trench to allow for the installation of telecommunication cable at a cost-saving for each organization, with the goal of supplying natural gas for next winter’s heating season.

The cost of the project is $1.4 million. It is being funded by Manitoba Hydro and other utilities as a more efficient way to accommodate future requests for natural gas and telecommunications connection.

The new pipeline is designed to support 20 years of load growth at CentrePort. This includes the corporation’s signature project – the CentrePort Canada Rail Park, a new 700-acre rail industrial park scheduled to begin construction next year.

The pipeline will also support other industrial development by private developers at CentrePort, representing more than 600 acres of new economic activity. It is estimated these lands will attract 70 new businesses by 2020 with many already in discussion about locating at CentrePort.

The project will extend 7.6 kilometers of new pipe to the CentrePort development and connect to existing service on the West Perimeter Highway. A second phase of the project will see new pipe installed to service development of a 590-acre residential community on CentrePort’s southern edge.

CentrePort Canada is Manitoba’s 20,000-acre inland port and the first logistics hub in the country to offer investors single-window access to Foreign Trade Zone benefits, connecting to major national and international trade gateways and corridors, and is the only inland port in Canada with direct access to tri-modal transportation – truck, rail and air cargo.