Liberal leader Philippe Couillard unveiled a plan Friday that he said would generate over $7 billion in investments and create 30,000 jobs over 15 years by rejuvenating Quebec’s shipping industry.

His plan, which would rely on $1.5 billion of federal funding, would result in job gains on the scale of the Liberals’ Northern Plan by making Quebec goods easier to ship. It would also capitalize the new free trade pact with Europe and the expansion of the Panama Canal.

Couillard said the job could be done with $4 billion in private investment and $3 in public infrastructure investment, half of which would be paid by Ottawa, which controls much of the port infrastructure in Quebec.

“These are not imaginary projects, we have had contact with the federal offices and I’m well aware that the federal government is interested in developed trade corridors,” he said.

About $500 million of the investment would be put into a logistics center in Vaudreuil-Soulanges, a kind of hub that would link the Seaway, Highway 30, the Trans Canada Highway and a railway junction.

Another billion would go to other infrastructure, such as ports and access roads.

The plan would boost river transport and inject cash into Quebec's shipyards and would include a tax credit of $50 million for the renovation and replacement of vessels.

A Liberal government would also improve ferry services and establish an office of maritime tourism and would also see a ferry launched between Montreal and the South Shore, at a cost of $10 million per year. The plan also promises to develop new marine technologies and boost the fishing industry.

Couillard said the plan would help the economy of coastal regions and also be environmentally friendly, as shipping is the least polluting method of transportation.

The plan would protect 10 percent of marine territory, including a 17,000 square km piece of the Magdalen Islands.

Couillard also visited a tug boat facility in the Isle-aux-Coudres which employs 700, where he was warmly welcomed by director Philippe Filion.

Some noted that the plan bears some similarity to the CAQ's St. Lawrence Project, which would decontaminate land along the St. Lawrence River.

But Couillard said his plan is different. “The CAQ’s plan was narrowly focused on the river close to Montreal and Quebec but we are trying to open ourselves to the world and export and spur economic activity throughout Quebec. It’s on a much different scale.”