Real estate investment company Dayhu Group is proposing to build a 900,000-square-foot commercial distribution centre on industrial land at Boundary Bay Airport.
The company has signed an agreement with the Corporation of Delta to move ahead with the project.
"The Dayhu development is expected to create approximately 1,000 ongoing jobs in Delta,” said Delta Mayor Lois Jackson. "We hope that this development and the unimpeded access to the airport provided by the new 80th Street Overpass will foster even more business development on the airport’s industrial land."
Construction of the new distribution centre is expected to commence soon in anticipation of opening in 2014. The facility will be used to store goods for circulation across the province.
Jackson made the announcement Thursday morning (June 28) at the grand opening of the 80th Street Overpass—a key passage along the Roberts Bank Rail Corridor (RBRC).
She was joined at Boundary Bay Airport by Randy Kamp, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, on behalf of Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, Rob Howard MLA for Richmond Centre and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, and Allan Baydala, chief financial officer of Port Metro Vancouver,
"The 80th Street Overpass secures a long-term safe and robust transportation system for the Boundary Bay Airport and provides uninterrupted access for emergency services. This is a critical enhancement for the area and our community," said Jackson. "We know the overpass is already helping aircraft operators and local businesses in their day to day work."
The project was funded by the federal government ($7.2 million), the provincial government ($2 million), Port Metro Vancouver ($4.8 million) and the Corporation of Delta ($1.48 million).
Delta in partnership with Alpha Aviation, also contributed the land required for the project, valued at $4.5 million.
The 80th Street Overpass project also provided for the repaving of 72nd Street and 80th Street, a new signalized intersection at Ladner Trunk Road and 72nd Street, and an advanced warning system on Ladner Trunk Road to divert motorists to 80th Street when trains cross 72nd Street.
It is one of nine RBRC road-rail projects initiated to enhance transportation safety and trade competitiveness along the Lower Mainland’s road and railway corridors.