The Port of Montreal expansion project in Contrecoeur, in the Montérégie region, has well and truly set sail on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. The construction site is now taking shape on the water as workers prepare to build a new quay. The container terminal project reached a new milestone in early August, following preparatory work on the site. Purchased by the Port in the 1980s, the land had, until quite recently, been temporarily leased to farmers. To mark the start of work on the water, the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) invited The Canadian Press and a second media outlet to a technical briefing and a site visit on Thursday. “This is a project that is moving forward,” said Julien Baudry, the MPA’s vice-president of communications and external relations, in an interview, noting other milestones reached over the past year. The Port of Montreal has signed a joint development agreement with the operator, DP World, and secured a $1.16-billion loan from the Infrastructure Bank of Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney officially launched the project of “national interest” last April. The next step is to build a stone working jetty in the river that will initially serve as a platform to move machinery and build the quay. It will then become the permanent surface of the future container yard. The jetty will be made up of rocks of various sizes to create a sturdy structure, explained an MPA official, adding that a total of 250,000 tonnes of rock has been delivered so far. Thousands more are expected in the coming months. Other materials will eventually be incorporated into the quay’s structure. According to the current timetable, construction is scheduled to continue until June 2029. MPA vice-president of the expansion project Ronald Haddad said that the dredging phase to deepen the riverbed in order to “connect to the existing channel” is due to begin in October 2027. Environmental measures The MPA said it has made assurances to implement various measures in order to monitor air and water quality, as well as noise levels, throughout the construction period. Monitoring stations have been set up to ensure the project complies with noise and air quality thresholds set by the Quebec Ministry of the Environment. “Turbidity curtains” have also been installed in the river to “reduce the discharge of suspended solids,” said a Port of Montreal official during the technical briefing. The MPA said it had finalized most of the mitigation plans to offset the project’s impacts on certain species, such as habitat loss for the copper-coloured sandpiper, and on wetlands. “In total, in terms of mitigation measures, we are talking about an investment of around $36 million, of which $17 million is for the red-necked phalarope alone,” said Baudry, adding that it is continuing to plant seagrass beds for this endangered species. In recent years, various groups have criticized the environmental impacts of the Port of Montreal expansion project, particularly in relation to the dredging works. Haddad maintained that the project had benefitted from “several years of planning” and “a rigorous environmental process.” Onshore works and funding Alongside the offshore works, the MPA is still working to prepare the onshore facilities. “We are currently in the planning stage and in negotiations with DP World to complete this phase, which is scheduled to begin in 2027,” said Haddad. DP World will take the lead in developing the container yard and the rail link, as well as the construction of buildings and utilities for the future terminal. The company will also be responsible for its operation and maintenance for 40 years. Discussions with DP World are focusing on technological and engineering choices, Baudry explained. They also include a financial aspect intended to help finalize the funding package for the expansion project. For a project worth approximately $2.3 billion, “around 25 to 30 per cent” of the investment remains to be confirmed, Baudry said. “In terms of financing, we are making good progress. We still need to finalize the details of the agreement with the operator. “But I must emphasize, this is not a matter of a funding shortfall. We now have confirmation of the loan from the Infrastructure Bank of Canada, which allows us to move forward,” he said. The MPA expects to finalize the agreement with DP World by early 2027 at the latest. The future terminal is set to increase the Port of Montreal’s capacity by 60 per cent. It will be able to handle 1.15 million containers per year. Operations could begin in 2030. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 24, 2026.
