Local businessman Michael Owen, who served as the Finance and Administration Chair of Delta’s Millennium Committee, presented the three-foot tall piece of I-beam during a recent meeting of the Port Authority’s Board of Directors on June 9, 2004. An engraved plaque that states the girder is a symbol of the Port Authority’s “strength and commitment to our community” accompanied the girder.

In 2000, the Port Authority provided $25,000 in funding from The Fraser Port Millennium Fund, towards the creation of a new pedestrian trail that now links Ladner Village with trails on Deas Island Regional Park. The Fraser Port Millennium Fund was created by the Fraser River Port Authority to support community projects that contribute to the quality of life in the Fraser River Communities.

“The Port Authority strives to create an integrated river community along the Fraser where there is a balance of nature with development,” said Malkiat Dhami, Chair of the Fraser River Port Authority Board of Directors. “We are very pleased to have been a part of this worthwhile project that enables people living in or visiting the area to appreciate first-hand the social and economic importance of the Fraser River and the Port to the Delta community.”

The Port Authority is responsible for Canada’s second busiest port based on total cargo volume. The port covers 227 kilometers of shoreline along the Fraser River from Langley to its mouth in the Georgia Strait. It employs over 12,400 people and total Gross Domestic Product exceeds $2.3 billion annually.