New Viau terminal has the environment at the heart of its design and operation

The new Viau terminal operated by Termont (a joint venture of the Logistec Group) was inaugurated November 18 at the Port of Montreal. Prior to building the infrastructure for handling up to 350,000 TEU containers, the site had to be redeveloped and almost nine hectares (22 acres) of land had to be solidified.

Rather than extract and replace weak soil, the Montreal Port Authority opted for an avant-garde encapsulation process. Since Autumn 2013, an encapsulation facility has been mixing crushed soils with cement to consolidate them. This dense yet malleable substance has been spread on the excavated ground to stabilize it so that it can handle stacks of three or four containers along with lifting equipment and trucks. The reuse of existing soils through encapsulation has saved 170 tons of greenhouse gases (GHG). The soil recovery project has received three awards for its environmental innovation.

The new Viau terminal is also environmental from an operational standpoint. Termont’s state-of-the-art cranes and gantries set up to service post-Panamax ships are the largest and greenest at the Port of Montreal. Their advanced electrical systems reduce energy consumption and GHG.