Canada plans to sell Ridley Terminals in British Columbia

OTTAWA Dec 13 (Reuters) - The Canadian government plans to sell Ridley Terminals Inc., a federal corporation that operates a bulk-handling facility at the British Columbian port of Prince Rupert, junior finance minister Ted Menzies announced on Thursday.

The terminal transfers bulk commodities from rail cars onto ocean-going vessels. A government statement said it supports western coal producers and it has handled record volumes as demand for high-quality Canadian coal has increased.

The government statement said it would not be appropriate to estimate what the corporation would be worth but said it reported a net operating profit of C$34 million ($34.7 million) in 2011. It plans to increase its capacity to 25 million tonnes by 2014 from 12 million now.