The construction, which is being built at Port of Longview, Washington, will operate as part of a joint venture with Japan-based ITOCHU and the STX Pan Ocean shipping group handling grain and oilseeds from 2011.
Northwest Corridor
Carl Hausmann, president of Bunge’s North American operations, says the construction will allow the group and its partners to further strengthen output from the Pacific Northwest, a region it claims is the second largest export corridor in the US.
"All three partners currently ship to the Pacific Rim and this facility will be well-positioned to create a more direct and stable supply base so that we can better serve our operations and customers in Asia," he states.
Unloading
The company says the terminal will make the use of state of the art technology such as rail loop track system that can hold four 110-car unit trains at a single time for unloading agricultural products. An additional shuttle train unloading system will also be incorporated into the terminal alongside operations to take cargo from barges along the Columbia River, according to Bunge.
“When it is fully operational, the facility will be able to handle more than eight million metric tons annually,” states the company.
Along with creating fifty new jobs at the terminal itself, the joint venture, called EGT Development, is expected to source grains and products from farmers in Washington State. Agricultural suppliers in the Northwest, the Midwest and Western Canada are also expected to be among suppliers for the site.
According to Bunge, the terminal will begin accepting produce for the autumn harvest in 2011.