Canpotex to Develop New Railcar Maintenance and Staging Facility
SASKATOON, April 19 /PRNewswire/ - Canpotex Limited (Canpotex) is pleased to announce plans that it will develop a state-of-the-art Railcar Maintenance and Staging Facility in Saskatchewan.
Located approximately 12 kilometres southwest of Lanigan in the Rural Municipality of Usborne, the project is estimated to cost CDN $55 million and will create approximately 40 jobs during construction and 20 jobs once operational.
Project feasibility studies were initiated in 2008 and environmental permitting, preliminary site preparation and final engineering design activities are nearing completion. The facility is designed to provide all-weather inspection and light repair, automated railcar wash and wheel maintenance services for Canpotex's current fleet of 5,000 railcars. Construction is expected to commence in May, 2011 and scheduled for completion by fall, 2012.
This new facility is part of a logistics' strategy initiated in 1996 when Canpotex partnered with National Steel Car Limited of Hamilton, Ontario to build the world's first railcar designed specifically to carry potash. The new railcar design combined with greater load capacity allows Canpotex to operate longer trains that carry more potash. By exclusively running longer trains, Canpotex is one of the first Canadian shippers to support the railways' move towards a 'hook and haul' operating system.
"The movement of our potash from Saskatchewan to our export terminals on the West Coast, covering a distance of over 1,600 kilometres through rugged terrain and severe climate changes, is the life-line of our logistics. This new facility will provide greater control over railcar maintenance, thereby enhancing the performance of our railcar fleet. It will also improve the efficiency of the overall rail corridor, benefiting shippers, railways and port jurisdictions throughout Western Canada," stated Mr. Steve Dechka, Canpotex's President and Chief Executive Officer.
Operating continuously since 1972, Canpotex is the exclusive offshore marketing company owned by the three Saskatchewan potash producing companies: Agrium Inc. (TSX andNYSE: AGU), Mosaic Canada Crop Nutrition, LP, a subsidiary of The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS), and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (TSX andNYSE: POT).
SOURCE Canpotex Limited
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