The British Columbia construction industry is thriving, with hundreds of public- and private-sector construction projects underway with a value of over $15 million. The construction projects in British Columbia include the Burnaby Hospital Redevelopment Project Phase 2, the Port Alberni Trans-Shipment Hub, and the Ksi Lisims LNG project.
Top BC projects in 2025 to keep an eye on
1. Port Alberni Trans-Shipment Hub (PATH)
Location: Port Alberni, BC
Date: TBD
Builders/contractors: TBD
The Port Alberni Port Authority has proposed building a new container shipping terminal in the Alberni Inlet, 12 miles from the Pacific Ocean. If completed, the project—called the Port Alberni Trans-shipment Hub (PATH)—would become one of Canada’s largest container shipping terminals. The project would include a fully automated container yard with 43 automated stacking cranes and eight automated gate cranes capable of handling ultra-large container ships with up to 22,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
PATH’s estimated cost is $1.78 billion. When it reaches 50% operational capacity, it is expected to employ 500 full-time employees.
2. Burnaby Hospital Redevelopment, Phase 2
Location: Burnaby, BC
Date: Construction begins in late 2025
Builders/contractors: PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc., Parkin Architects Western Ltd.
The second phase of the Burnaby Hospital Redevelopment involves improvements, renovations, and the construction of new hospital facilities, including:
- Demolition of the West Wing building
- Expanding the emergency department to 104 spaces
- Construction of the Keith and Betty Beedie Acute Care Tower, with 160 private rooms, a new medical imaging department, two CT scanners, public spaces, a spiritual care suite, and hospital support services
- Renovations to the endoscopy and laboratory components
The project budget is $1.7 billion, and construction is expected to be completed in 2030.
3. Sapperton Green Mixed-Use Development
Location: New Westminster, BC
Date: TBD
Builders/contractors: QuadReal Property Group, MCMP Architects
Sapperton Green Mixed-Use Development is a massive construction project in British Columbia with plans for several residential housing types. It contains 4.45 million square feet of residential floor space for almost 10,000 residents, 1.12 million square feet of secured market rental housing, and at least 255,000 square feet of affordable housing.
Sapperton Green also includes plans for:
- 750,000-1.5 million square feet of office space
- 100,000-150,000 square feet of retail and commercial floor space
- A 35,000-square-foot community center and childcare facility
- 3.2 hectares of publicly accessible open space
The Sapperton Green Mixed-Use Development is expected to take 20-30 years to complete. However, the $1.97 billion project is temporarily on hold pending a dispute between the landowner and the city of New Westminster.
4. Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project
Location: Delta, BC
Date: Construction is expected to begin in the late 2020s and be completed mid-2030s
Builders/contractors: Stantec
The Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project is a proposed marine container terminal project in Delta, BC, led by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. The project proposes constructing a three-berth marine container terminal to increase Canada’s West Coast terminal capacity by over 30%. Construction will provide 18,050 person-years of employment and, when operational, will provide 17,300 jobs yearly. The project website also details the steps it’s undertaken towards environmental resiliency, including:
- Developing 94 hectares of restored and enhanced fish habitat credits and offsetting projects in collaboration with First Nations groups.
- Contributing $30 million to prey abundance initiatives and supporting the recovery of Chinook salmon—one of the primary food sources for resident killer whales.
- Completing over 100 technical, environmental, and engineering studies and over 59,000 hours of fieldwork to develop environmental programs designed to conserve and protect species and surrounding habitats.
5. Arbutus to UBC Skytrain – Millennium Line UBC Extension
Location: Vancouver, BC
Date: 2050
Builders/contractors: TBD
Construction on the Skytrain’s Arbutus extension is expected to be completed in 2027, spurring TransLink to propose continuing the SkyTrain expansion to the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus. The Arbutus to UBC Skytrain proposal is still in its infancy. The Regional Base Scope, which included initial concepts of station locations, was presented to and endorsed by the Mayors’ Council. While the project’s budget and completion date are unclear, the Millennium Line UBC Extension has been identified as a priority project in TransLink’s “Transport 2050: 10-Year Priorities” document.
6. Garibaldi at Squamish Ski Resort
Location: Squamish, BC
Date: Construction is scheduled to begin in 2025, with an estimated completion in 2028
Builders/contractors: Aquilini Development and Northland Properties
The Garibaldi at Squamish Ski Resort is a proposed recreational ski area built at the top of Brohm Ridge, eight miles north of Squamish, BC. The resort, with an initial budget of $3.5 billion, will cover 2,759 hectares, with a base mountain development area of 524 hectares.
Development highlights:
- Garibaldi at Squamish will provide an estimated 2000 construction jobs
- When completed, Garibaldi at Squamish will provide 4,000 long-term operational jobs
- Ski hill plans propose 21 chairlifts and 120 runs
7. Cedar LNG Project
Location: Kitimat, BC
Date: Peak construction anticipated in 2026, with substantial completion by 2028
Builders/contractors: Samsung Heavy Industries, Black & Veatch
Cedar LNG is a floating liquified natural gas (LNG) project by The Haisla Nation and Pembina Pipeline Corporation. The project will have a maximum capacity of 3.3 million tonnes per year and be powered by renewable electricity from BC Hydro. Cedar LNG will be the world’s first LNG project that’s Indigenous majority-owned and offers one of the shortest shipping routes to Asian markets.
8. Fraser River Tunnel Project
Location: Delta, BC
Date: Construction begins in 2026 and is projected to complete in 2030
Builders/contractors: Cross Fraser Partnership
The $4.15 billion Fraser River Tunnel Project involves constructing a tunnel on Highway 99 to replace the existing George Massey Tunnel, which runs beneath the Fraser River. The tunnel will have eight lanes—three vehicle lanes and a transit lane running in each direction—divided by a separated corridor for pedestrians and cyclists.
9. Prince Rupert Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline
Location: Hudson’s Hope, BC
Date: Construction began August 24, 2024
Builders/contractors: Bechtel, Ledcor
The proposed Prince Rupert Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline is a joint project from Western LNG and the Nisga’a Nation. The $6 billion pipeline project would run from the northeast of BC to the planned Ksi Lisims LNG facility, a distance of almost 500 miles, with a capacity of 2-3.6 billion cubic feet daily. The scheduled construction start date was August 24, 2024.
Together with Ksi Lisims LNG, the Prince Rupert Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline is expected to create $55 billion over 30 years while creating 4000 construction jobs.
10. Ksi Lisims LNG Project
Location: Nisga’a, BC
Date: Construction to begin in 2025 and be completed by 2029
Builders/contractors: Black & Veatch
The Ksi Lisims LNG project has an estimated budget of $10 billion to create a floating LNG facility on the northwest coast of BC. When completed, the project will have a maximum capacity of 12 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas annually. The Ksi Lisims LNG aims to be “net-zero ready by 2030” by:
- Use technology to reduce facility emissions to the lowest level possible
- Offset hard to reduce emissions by purchasing credible, preferably local, and nature-based offsets
- Pursue continuous improvement through ongoing analysis of new technologies and approaches
The Ksi Lisims LNG project is a collaboration between the Nisga’a Nation, Rockies LNG, and Western LNG.
Final thoughts
There is no shortage of construction projects in British Columbia as the industry continues to expand with hopes these infrastructure and energy initiatives will shape the province for decades to come. From large-scale infrastructure investments like the Fraser River Tunnel Project and Millennium Line UBC Extension to energy projects like Cedar LNG and Ksi Lisims LNG, BC is setting an example of how to lead with innovation.
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