The Global Transportation Hub (GTH) has purchased 418 acres of strategically located land for $10 million, a move officials say will preserve dual rail connectivity and help attract major industrial investment to the Regina region. The acquisition includes land adjacent to a spur rail line with access to both Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) rail networks. “This acquisition is not about acquiring more land, It’s about maintaining the strategic asset of dual rail connectivity for both CN and CP and so this site will be very attractive to other value added processing users and other large scale investments,” said Daniel Hersche, CEO of the Global Transportation Hub. Cargill had purchased the property to facilitate a rail link to its new canola crush facility. It needed only a narrow strip crossing three quarters of farm land to the north and south but was forced to purchase the entire package. Most of the land was surplus to Cargill’s needs. “Unless a farmer wants to subdivide their land, which is not normally the case .... if you’re commercially negotiating something, they’ll want to sell you that whole half section or section of land that’s necessary to build that infrastructure,” he said. The Global Transportation Hub had started out with close to 2,000 acres but had sold all but 450. The latest rail and land acquisition will double the amount of property available for development and continue to spur economic growth in the Regina area.
