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HOPA Planning Further Expansion of Niagara

Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority toured Port Colborne marine area

The Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority looking to grow the Niagara Port Lands.

Officials had a tour over the weekend of Port Colborne's underutilized marine areas, as well as land in Thorold, which resulted in Transport Canada transferring management of the area from the St. Lawrence Seaway to HOPA.

President of HOPA, Ian Hamilton, says there's lots of unused potential in Niagara, and they really like Port Colborne.  "Particularly when you look at the canal, we sort of see an opportunity to concentrate industry on the east side, and allow much more recreational, and the tourism business, and cruise ships to focus in on the west side."

He adds they've been working on expansion of Niagara for the last 5 to 6 years, and part of that included creating the Thorold multi-modal hub.

They're also excited for the potential jobs it'll create.  "Niagara is going through a bit of a renaissance, in industry, and maybe lost some of the talent that existed a few years ago.  But with Brock University, and Niagara College, and other institutions in Niagara, I think we're creating a great talent pool."

He adds Niagara is close to the Greater Toronto-Hamilton area, which he calls the 4th largest market in North America.

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