Quebec names Vaudreuil-Soulanges region a logistical hub

Much to the delight of civic and business officials in VaudreuilSoulanges, the region was officially named Monday as one of two logistical hubs to be developed by the Couillard government.

“It’s fantastic news. We’ve been working on that for almost 10 years now,” said Vaudreuil-Dorion Mayor Guy Pilon, who is also chairman of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges CLD.

The hub site confirmation was made during a press conference Monday unveiling the province’s vast maritime strategy that deals with tourism, fishing and transportation across the province.

Government officials estimate that the logistical hubs to be established in both Vaudreuil-Soulanges and Contrecoeur, east of Montreal, will create about 1,800 direct jobs within five years and up to 11,000 jobs by 2030. About $400 million is to be allocated over five years to support the best projects to implement these logistical hubs. As well, the government intends to earmark $100 million for fund- ing public infrastructure projects linked to the sites.

Pilon said the province has decided the local hub will be situated in Les Cèdres, at the junction of Highways 20 and 30, near Highway 40 and rail lines and in the transportation corridor between Ontario, the international airport in Dorval as well as Montreal’s port.

“The government has the last word on everything. We will let them decide on the finishing touches,” he said, adding he wants Quebec to follow through with realizing the multi-faceted economic project as announced. “You can have an official announcement, but we want to know, where is the money?” he continued.

There is much organizational and development planning to be ironed out, from forming an agency to managing a hub to setting its operating budget as well as establishing potential private-public partnerships with industry, Pilon said.

“It will take at least 18 months to two years to see something (on the ground),” he said. “It’s not something automatic. You won’t see a building the next day (after an announcement). There’s no infrastructure yet. The big news is the fact there will be (a hub), but we have to work on preparing details. It will take time.

“We are very far from, lets say, being operational,” he added.

The logistics hub could be used to encourage enterprises to set up shop in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area for value-added goods, including ones related to agricultural and, in the end, could divert some heavy trucks from passing through the island of Montreal, Pilon said.

The Quebec government envisions these hubs will be multimodal industrial parks that will mainly gather businesses and distribution centres that engage in logistical operations to ensure the efficient distribution of goods on domestic and international markets. A concentration of companies in a logistical hub will make it possible to offer high added-value services related to customs and financial transactions, the integration of the information and communications technologies, hiring and manpower training, research and development.