Storage & Transport
Commodity hub planned for southeastern Saskatchewan

Feb. 5, 2013, Northgate, SK - A major grain storage and handling company is planning a $90 million hub in southeastern Saskatchewan to ship grain and oil.

Ceres Global Ag Corp. has bought 1,500 acres of land in Northgate, which is east of Estevan, along the border with North Dakota and plans to build the commodity logistics hub, including two high-efficiency rail loops, each capable of handling unit trains of up to 120 railcars. One loop will be dedicated to a grain handling and shipping facility, and the other to transloading and shipping oil.

The hub would be connected to BNSF Railway's United States rail network. The company says the connection will give shippers access to customers in 28 states, Pacific and Gulf ports, and Mexico along BNSF's nearly 51,500 kilometre network.

Construction is planned to start in the spring, with initial grain and oil shipments expected later in 2013.

The facility will be built over three years, and has been designed ultimately to handle up to 40 million bushels of grain annually and 70,000 barrels of oil per day. More than 100 construction jobs will be created, and about 30 ongoing jobs once the facility is fully operational.

February 5, 2013  By Janet Kanters