Canada's City Council is supporting federal funding for a port to be built in the Sault Ste. Marie. Essar Shipping Ports & Logistics Limited (ESPLL) submitted the bid for a new port to be built, and if successful as much as 25 percent of costs (estimated at about $170 million) will be covered.
In addition to spurring new industrial development in the area, a new port will aid in the growth of existing steel companies in the area such as sheet and plate mill Essar Steel Algoma and Algoma Tubes, a subsidiary of pipe and tube manufacturer Tenaris.