Winnipeg's proposed inland port gets $212M boost

Manitoba's plan for an inland port was given a big boost toward reality on Tuesday with Prime Minister Steven Harper committing more than $100 million in federal funds.

Harper was in the province to observe flooded areas of southern Manitoba and announce federal stimulus funding for the port concept.

He took a helicopter tour of the Red River Valley with Premier Gary Doer then landed at Winnipeg's James Richardson International Airport at 2 p.m. for a joint announcement with Doer about CentrePort Canada Way.

The premier announced the provincial government would contribute the other half of the funding, plus donate land near the airport, for a total project cost of $212 million.

The CentrePort plan calls for 20,000 acres northwest of the airport to be turned into a massive trucking and rail depot linked to runways with aircraft coming and going from all over the globe. The idea builds on Winnipeg's reputation as the geographic centre of North America.

Portions of the funding announced Tuesday will help develop a four-lane expressway linking the inland port to the airport. A high-speed corridor will connect Inkster Boulevard and the airport and the CP Rail Weston yards to the Perimeter Highway near Saskatchewan Ave.

Canada Post is already building a new mail distribution plant on 11 hectares of land east of the airport and a new Greyhound bus depot is under construction adjacent to the airport.

Barry Prentice, professor at the I.H. Asper School of Business, said the CentrePort "might be attractive to firms to settle here who want to take advantage of those transportation units. But in the main, what it means is employment and investment."