Delta is still hoping to convince Port Metro Vancouver there's a viable alternative to container terminal expansion at Roberts Bank.
For over a year, civic politicians have been lobbying in conjunction with their counterparts in Ashcroft to locate container expansion in the Interior community, which wants the business.
Delta has continued to help put forward a business case for the plan, holding a meeting a couple of weeks ago at municipal hall.
The in-camera session featured a pair of guest speakers: Dr. David Fung, director of CentrePort Canada, who presented perspectives from the Winnipeg Inland Port; and Johannes Vervloed, consult general of the Netherlands, who made a presentation on inland ports in his country.
Mayor Lois Jackson said further meetings behind the scenes are planned and a report from a consultant, looking at the economic, environmental and social impacts of port expansion, is being prepared.
"We're moving along on this and I'm hoping we'll have the final report for a council presentation around September," she said.
Jackson and municipal officials were part of a delegation that visited Ashcroft last year to check out the terminal expansion proposal.
Delta organized the tour, with Lower Mainland port, rail and trucking officials attending. An earlier meeting in Delta had various stakeholders, as well as Ashcroft Mayor Andy Anderson and the terminal owner, to discuss the alternative link for the Asia-Pacific corridor.
"There are many positive synergies for both the Delta and Ashcroft communities in seeing the successful development of the Ashcroft Terminal," a previous Delta report noted. "For Delta it would mean the demand for land close to Deltaport would be lessened and there would be fewer trucks traveling through the community and for Ashcroft, it would mean much needed jobs and economic investment." The report also noted it's a project that requires "outside the box" thinking, but it must also be supported by a solid business case.
The Ashcroft Terminal expansion proposal is being pushed by some as a way to alleviate pressure to develop farmland here, which has come about as a result of a projected limited supply of industrial properties The Ashcroft site is being pitched because it has the necessary industrial zoning in place, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific rail lines running through it, as well as the support of neighbouring communities.
The Ashcroft Terminal website states its expansion would provide efficiency in the Canadian logistics chain for a wide range of shippers and producers, while supporting growth in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.
In May, an expansion project at the Ashcroft Terminal was completed, aimed at improving the flow of goods by rail.
Despite all that, Port Metro Vancouver has made it clear it's not interested in Ashcroft.
In a report last year by Avison Young, Tom Corsie, vice-president of real estate for PMV, threw cold water on the proposal.
"It is our view that a new container terminal at Roberts Bank (Terminal 2) is the most efficient way to provide additional long-term capacity to this growing sector. PMV is currently working with the proponents of the Ashcroft facility, but it is unlikely the economic development activity they are pursuing will involve the development of an inland container terminal."
A major component of the port's plan to handle a projected growth in container traffic remains Terminal 2, a proposed three-berth terminal that would be constructed adjacent to the existing Deltaport container terminal at Roberts Bank.
The port authority, already having unveiled a preliminary design for T2, is still working on a number of field studies in preparation for an application. It will likely submit an environmental impact statement to Ottawa at the end of the year, kicking off a lengthy environmental review.
