Port Saint John moved 86,949 TEU in 2021 – marking the fifth consecutive year of growth in container volumes at the port.
Overall cargo tonnage at the port amounted to 28.8 metric tonnes in 2021, an 11 per cent increase over the previous year.
The announcements were made during Port Saint John’s 22nd Annual General Meeting where it also shared audited financial statements for the period.
Saint John’s revenue for last year came in at CA$22.3 million ($17.6 million), up from CA$16.5 million ($13 million) in 2020.
Income from port operations rose to CA$4.3 million ($3.3 million), increasing nearly four-fold from the CA$1.2 million ($948,357) the previous year.
Net income for 2021 was reportedly CA$4.7 million ($3.7 million), up significantly from the CA$1.8 million ($1.4 million) in 2020.
“While our annual meeting is a time to look at our past performance, we at Port Saint John are ever focused on what comes next. For us, what comes next is enhancing this gateway to provide even greater supply chain resiliency on Canada’s East Coast as we respond to private sector demand for capacity up to 800,000 TEU per year,” said Port CEO Craig Bell Estabrooks.
Estabrooks later noted that construction on the West Side Modernization Project within its DP World multipurpose cargo terminal continued to progress towards completion by early 2023.
The CEO previously told PTI that this project would cover improvements to the port’s pier and capital work to its container terminal that would surpass its regular maintenance and repair budget.
The Government of Canada has also recently contributed more than CA$42 million ($32.7 million) to improve supply chain efficiency for Canadian shippers in Saint John and McAdam, New Brunswick.
A total of CAD$21.16 ($16.5 million) has been set aside to upgrade rail terminals in both regions. A further CA$21 million ($16.3 million) has been donated to the Saint John Authority to increase the cargo laydown capacity of the West Side Terminal.
