Gateway to growth: GCT and Canada’s West Coast port expansion strategy

Global Container Terminals (GCT) is transforming how Canada’s Pacific Gateway moves goods, pairing terminal innovation with long-term support for critical port expansion.

GCT keeps global trade moving by operating high-tech container terminals that connect the Port of Vancouver to the world’s largest shipping lines and international markets. From the waterfront to inland rail yards, GCT orchestrates the seamless transfer of containers between ships, trucks, and trains with precision and reliability. With over a century of experience, the company has helped shape Canada’s Pacific Gateway, building the infrastructure that underpins billions of dollars in trade every year.

Today, GCT is a Canadian majority-owned container terminal operator serving the Port of Vancouver through two Green Marine certified gateway terminals – GCT Vanterm and GCT Deltaport – with capacity to handle more than 3 million TEUs (“twenty-foot equivalent units”, or typical 20-foot shipping containers) annually. Recognized as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies in both 2024 and 2025, GCT is noted for operational innovation, strong governance, and sustained performance. This recognition reflects a deliberate strategy to invest in technology, people, and infrastructure that keeps the gateway competitive and resilient within shifting global trade patterns and supply chain changes.

BCI’s Infrastructure & Renewable Resources program has been a shareholder in GCT since 2017 and continues to support the port operator’s growth and productivity gains. Today, GCT remains an integral component of international commerce and a key driver of Canada’s access to Asia Pacific markets.

GCT’s innovation strategy is anchored in bringing advanced technology directly into terminal operations to improve safety, reliability, and productivity. At GCT Deltaport, Canada’s only semiautomated on-dock rail yard combines technology, optimized yard design, and data-driven planning, which has increased capacity by more than 30% within the port’s existing footprint and allows cargo to move inland more quickly. By rethinking how a modern terminal should operate, GCT uses process design and technology to move more railcars while sharply reducing interactions between workers and heavy equipment.

Across both GCT Deltaport and GCT Vanterm, GCT is also modernizing systems to handle larger vessels and higher volumes without sacrificing reliability. A $160 million upgrade at Vanterm added new ship-to-shore cranes with regenerative drives, a next-generation terminal operating system, and higher-density container stacks, boosting handling capacity by about 25% within the same footprint. These upgrades, together with data-driven planning tools and real-time performance monitoring, improve vessel turnaround times, reduce dwell, and deliver more predictable, efficient service and better visibility for customers.

GCT also treats innovation as an organization-wide discipline, closely linking operational excellence with its ESG and net-zero commitments. Through its Global Commitment program, the company pairs equipment and process upgrades – such as Tier 4 (low-emission) engines, light-duty fleet electrification, piloting electric heavy-duty equipment, and yard reconfiguration – with rigorous performance measurement and continuous improvement. The result is a more productive, lower emission operation that is earning recognition for innovation in safety and environmental performance and setting a high bar for container terminals across North America. The company has already reduced scope 1 and 2 emissions by about 33% from 2014 through improved fuel efficiency and early adoption of electric equipment.

On April 21, 2026, GCT Global Container Terminals (GCT) and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA), with support from the Government of Canada’s Major Projects Office, announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore a partnership to advance the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 (RBT2) project. Under the agreement, the parties will share information and negotiate in good faith toward a potential joint development agreement, with VFPA working exclusively with GCT for the one-year MOU term.

RBT2 is regarded as a nationally significant, nation-building piece of trade infrastructure that will help meet growing container demand, strengthen supply chain resilience, and support Canada’s global competitiveness.

The MOU reflects a coordinated approach, with VFPA continuing to lead development of the terminal landmass, permitting, and Indigenous engagement, while assessing the potential benefits of GCT’s operational expertise as a prospective terminal builder and operator. As part of this alignment, GCT will withdraw its separate Deltaport Berth 4 expansion proposal to focus on advancing RBT2.

GCT’s longstanding presence at Roberts Bank and proven operational track record position it as a credible partner in delivering complex terminal infrastructure. Backed by investors including BCI, the project reflects a shared commitment to building efficient, sustainable, and commercially viable infrastructure to support Canada’s trade objectives.

Long before ‘smart ports’ became a mainstream concept, GCT was the first terminal operator in North America to voluntarily introduce a truck reservation system in 2004 – improving port efficiency, smoothing gate flows, and cutting emissions from idling trucks.