Vancouver Airport Fuel Facilities Corporation (VAFFC) has submitted to the city of Richmond a plan to construct a 9.32-mile pipeline and six steel storage tanks with a total capacity of 21.13 million gallons of jet fuel.
The proposal comes as tanker trucks and a pipeline from Burnaby, roughly 25 miles from the airport, currently provide facility tenants jet fuel.
VAFFC, a non-profit owned by a consortium of domestic and international airlines operating from Vancouver, estimates that the airport receives an average of 25 daily deliveries of jet fuel by truck, and up to 35 daily deliveries during peak travel periods.
“Without a pipeline with greater capacity, tanker truck deliveries could increase to 200 daily within 20 years,” according to VAFFC. “Domestic sources of aviation fuel cannot meet the growing needs of Vancouver, so access to off-
shore sources will help ensure Vancouver can serve its airlines and passengers.”
The pipeline project must obtain regulatory and environmental approvals from several entities, but VAFFC anticipates construction could begin as early as summer 2011. The project would take roughly 20 months to complete.
VAFFC estimates the project will cost between C$70 million and C$100 million.