Proponents building logistical case for multi-modal plant.

Sault Ste. Marie -- The drivers of Sault Ste. Marie's freight-handling transportation hub concept are seeking a logistics expert to build their case for a multi-modal facility.

Destiny Sault Ste. Marie, an economic diversification planning group, plans to put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) in December or early January to select a logistics consultant. That consultant would prepare a business case and market analysis identifying "best bets" to make the concept a reality, says Destiny managing director Bill Therriault.

Destiny is proceeding with funding applications to seek $660,000 from the city, FedNor, Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and Transport Canada, to finance a consultant's study for 2006. The consultant will advise whether or not to proceed with the project. The city has accumulated a file of potential firms based on the submissions received earlier this year from an Expression of Interest package.

Therriault says part of the consultant's task will be to identify possible shippers, customers and to later conduct a test run to provide potential clients with hard data on transportation costs and transit times.

The consultant will report to a new multi-modal task force under the Destiny Sault Ste. Marie banner.

The six-person group consists of chairperson Katherine MacRae, the city commissioner of engineering and planning Jerry Dolcetti, the economic development corporation's director of industrial marketing, John Febbraro, past chamber of commerce president Don Mitchell, Algoma Steel Corporate logistics manager Ed Bumbacco and St. Marys Paper mill manager Mare Dube.

The city wants to divert container traffic, originating primarily from the West Coast, through Sault Ste. Marie to the U.S. Midwest. Their pitch to government and industry is that the Sault is a more efficient corridor to transport goods for just-in-time delivery than through more congested transfer yards and border crossings in southern Ontario.

"We expect the consultant to talk to people like Ford and anybody else in the business that's relevant," says Therriault, which will likely include discussions with Canadian National Railway (CN).

The national rail carrier is refusing to take part in any rail container scheme that redirects freight away from their well-established transfer facilities near Toronto.

In November, the Sault took a bold step forward on the multi-modal concept when local businessman Jack Purvis broke ground on a 60,000-square-foot terminal near the International Bridge.

www.multimodalssm.com

By IAN ROSS

Northern Ontario Business