Ports America and Sydney Harbour Investment Partners (SHIP) have announced an agreement for the promotion, development, and management of Novaporte, the marine container facility in the Port of Sydney, Nova Scotia.

SHIP has exclusive development rights to approximately 500 acres in the Port of Sydney and, with the support of Ports America and a specially formed development group, will build a dedicated, semi-automated, deep-water marine container facility capable of handling 18,000+ TEU vessels. Building will commence after establishing sufficient customer volume commitments. Construction, once initiated, is expected to take approximately two years to complete.

The Port of Sydney is located on the east coast of Canada and positions SHIP and Ports America to accommodate shipping routes to and from North America, Europe and Asia. The Port of Sydney also benefits from infrastructure connectivity via multiple road, rail, and sea channels, as well as abundant power.

Ports America’s experienced management team will apply its business development and growth strategies while marketing the Novaporte terminal as a Ports America-managed facility to attract new customer and investor relationships. It will also advise on the operational configuration of the terminal to maximize efficiency. Ports America will manage and operate the terminal for 40 years, providing services such as full stevedore and terminal labor management, terminal operating systems, and maintenance and repair.

“Novaporte is a uniquely located deep water port able to handle the largest of the next generation of ultra-large container vessels,” said Peter Ford, Chief Strategy Officer at Ports America. “Geographically, it is the first stop for vessels on the Great Circle Route from Europe and Asia via the Suez.”

Novaporte has abundant land, an adjacent 1,200-acre logistics park and is located in a foreign trade zone. “Add to that abundant power, road and rail, as well as a skilled work force,” said Ford, “and you have the makings of an east coast gateway for the next generation of super ships.” Novaporte will employ the latest technology to become the greenest, most cost-efficient port on the continent, according to Ford.

Ports America is the largest U.S. terminal operator and stevedore with operations in 42 ports and 80 terminals and handling more than 13.4 million TEUs, 2.5 million vehicles, and 10.1 million tons of general cargo in 2015.