The Northern View is running a story today which recounts Prince Rupert Port Corporation President and CEO Don Krusel’s recent trip to Asia. Part of a trip designed to promote Prince Rupert as a gateway to the Asia-Pacific region.
Port Authority President and CEO Don Krusel says that his recent tour of countries along the Asia Pacific has left him more optimistic about the future of Prince Rupert’s container port development than before
By Shaun Thomas The Northern View
Jun 06 2007
Port Authority President and CEO Don Krusel says that his recent tour of countries along the Asia Pacific has left him more optimistic about the future of Prince Rupert’s container port development than before.
Krusel returned on May 28 from a tour with Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon and representatives from the Vancouver Port Authority, CN, CP, BNSF rail, and Transport Canada that included meetings with government and industry leaders in China, Japan and South Korea.
The trip was designed to promote B.C. as a gateway to North American markets, and Krusel says the trip showed that industry and government in those countries are well aware of and excited by what is happening in the city.
“I was very proud and very excited by the very high level of interest in Prince Rupert and the Prince Rupert concept. Everybody knew about us, everybody was keenly interested in what was happening here and it was very clear from discussion that took place with the various shipping lines that almost all of the shipping lines were quite eager to be in a position to utilize Prince Rupert.”
“The growth is there, the level of recognition is high and it just reinforced to me, more than ever, that Prince Rupert’s time has arrived.”
And while industry is looking forward to the container port at Fairview Terminal coming online this fall, Krusel said the B.C. delegation was told, quite clearly, that gateway infrastructure development needs to be stepped up to meet demand.
“The message we received loud and clear from all of the shipping lines was that their anticipated rate of growth over the coming years is going to be 12 to 15 per cent per annum. There does not seem to be any indication that, on the other side of the Pacific, there is going to be any slow down.”
“The message is that the growth is going to continue so the infrastructure has to come together and be built as soon as possible,” he said.
As well as visiting the ports, Krusel visited the yard where the Super Post-panamax cranes are being built for the Fairview Terminal and said they are very near completion.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment