Construction underway for Canada Post’s $200m Vancouver hub

Construction is now under way on a new $200m mail processing plant near Vancouver International Airport, which will provide a gateway for growing e-commerce volumes from Asia Pacific countries into Canada. Canada Post held a ceremony at the site yesterday, attended by transport minister Steven Fletcher, marking the start of construction for the 700,000 square foot (65,000 square metre) facility.

The Crown Corporation said it should be completed by 2014, connecting e-commerce merchants with consumers in the “fastest-growing sector of the delivery business”.

Vancouver is one of Canada Post’s three international gateways for parcels, packets and letters, and the central point of the company’s western operations.

The new plant is part of Canada Post’s $2bn multi-year modernisation programme, Postal Transformation, which seeks to reposition the company for growth in areas like parcel delivery as traditional letter volumes decline.

The company said parcel volumes from its 20 largest e-commerce customers grew by more than 20% in 2011, with forecasts that Canadians will spend $31bn online by 2015, double the current rate. ($1 CAD is currently almost equal in value to $1 USD).

Commerce

The transport minister said yesterday that the new Vancouver plant would strengthen the country’s position in international commerce as a whole.

“With e-commerce in Canada growing rapidly, creating new businesses and jobs, it is important for Canada Post to effectively serve this growing market and the economic engine within Canada,” said Fletcher.

The new plant is being built to LEED environmental standards by Toronto-based construction firm Bird Design-Build Construction, Inc.

The facility is expected to house about 1,200 staff, and should eventually take over operations from the current mail processing plant located in downtown Vancouver, which currently processes about 10% of national mail volumes.

But yesterday the corporation particularly stressed the new facility’s future role in the e-commerce field.

Deepak Chopra, the chief executive of Canada Post, said: “With the growth of e-commerce, we are positioning ourselves as a strong and reliable link between Canada and the Far East.

“Our unrivalled delivery, transportation and retail networks already make us the leading provider of business-to-consumer home delivery in Canada. We will ensure Canada Post remains relevant in an increasingly digital economy, with more packages and fewer letters.”