There was something about all those smiling faces that was disconcerting.
A couple of weeks back industrial and political leaders gathered at Boundary Bay Airport for a roundtable that focused on the movement of goods, particularly as it relates to Asia-Pacific trade. We ran a photograph on the front page that showed politicians from various levels of government together with representatives from key sectors in the supply chain.
Perhaps I'm reading too much into the fact these folks got together in otherwise out-of-the-way Delta, but do you get the feeling, like I do, that what's on the table now won't be the last of the port-related development in this neck of the woods? There are certainly plenty of signs out there to suggest that's the case.
It stands to reason that as the population grows within the region and beyond there will be greater demands for both imports and exports in all kinds of commodities.
Given the locations, and constraints, of other ports in the Lower Mainland, it also stands to reason that Roberts Bank would be the logical choice to accommodate this growth, hence the push to build Terminal 2, a second three-berth container port.
We just got a billion-dollar highway in the form of the South Fraser Perimeter Road and a bridge that will likely be two or three times that amount is scheduled to open in eight years to replace the antiquated tunnel, which means the road network out here is, or at least will be, as good as any when it comes to servicing the region's ports.
Throw in the fact there is oodles of undeveloped land - we like to call it farmland in these parts - adjacent to Roberts Bank and you've got the potential for that upland base so integral to port operations.
While I'm building this conspiracy theory, I might as well add the Tsawwassen First Nation to the mix. This self-governing entity can set its own ground rules and has huge tracts of land next door to the port, so it could prove to be a player in how all this shakes out.
What about the "study areas" in Port Metro Vancouver's long-range plans for Roberts Bank or the fact the acreage used by ports on the Vancouver waterfront is some of the most prime real estate in the region?
It's difficult to know what the future will hold, but there are all kinds of signs to suggest that Delta's strategic location will factor into Canada's burgeoning trade with the Far East. Otherwise, why would all those movers and shakers make their way out here?
