Capital Planning Update March 2024

As an essential public service, it is our job to keep people moving safely and reliably. We review our capital plan regularly to ensure it’s helping us achieve those goals. Inevitably, that means some tough decisions as we must work within our budget.

During this year’s annual review, we prioritized two main aspects of our capital investment plan:

1. The work required to ensure the maintenance and continued reliability of our infrastructure
2. The delivery of vessels to replace our aging fleet and meet the growing capacity demands of the communities we serve, and the replacement of berths required to support new vessel introductions.

As a result, we have had to defer or adjust the scope of some of our previously planned projects to work within available funds. For more on project impacts for Texada Island, please read on.

Although some adjustments have been made, our plans continue to include $356 million in capital investments this year, and approximately $2.2 billion over the next four years (Performance Term Six). We also plan to pursue additional funding opportunities that would allow us to re-evaluate capital expenditures before the end of the next performance term (March 31, 2028). We will keep you updated as we continue to re-evaluate.

What does this mean for Blubber Bay terminal?

As we note above, we have prioritized the work required to ensure the maintenance and continued reliability of our infrastructure for all coastal residents. In our last FAC meeting, we mentioned some potential work to expand the holding lanes at Blubber Bay terminal. We wanted to let you know that this work has been deferred for the foreseeable future as a result of the capital planning process.

We understand that the community has concerns regarding the safety of the roadways when vehicle traffic congestion exceeds the lot size. For that reason, we will continue to stay connected with our partners including the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, local transit and other stakeholders to work on operational improvements for vehicle staging, traffic control and communication.

We thank you for your understanding as we make the challenging decisions required to ensure the maintenance and continued reliability of our infrastructure. We will reconnect with the community as plans for these terminals evolve should funding become available.