Wednesday, September 12, 2007

A new era launched for the North Coast


One hundred years after Charles Melville Hays laid out plans for a great port on the Pacific; Don Krusel sealed the deal and officially opened a transportation gateway that very well may redefine world trade through Canada.

Hays probably never imagined the idea of containers of goods flowing through his still developing port, and as events would show history intervened, taking his life and laying low his dreams and aspirations for a small community on the north coast of British Columbia. It would be 100 years later, that Hays' dream of a world port on the Pacific would come to realization.

On a spectacularly sunny Wednesday morning, Krusel the President and CEO of the Port of Prince Rupert in front of the assembled dignitaries from far and wide, officially declared that "our stars have aligned" and that the Fairview Container Port as open for business.

Speeches filled the fresh morning air, declarations of a job well done and the promise of even better days to come for the port that only three years ago seemed to be on the verge of extinction.

The dedication to containerization that Krusel and his team kept to through the darkest of years brought the Port of Prince Rupert back to life, reinvigorating a community as they did. With the promise of direct and indirect jobs to come, the port now becomes the lynch pin of the community’s economy, as the containers arrive and depart over the next number of years, local residents will be hoping that the anticipated expansion of the local economy comes to pass.

With phase one now complete and soon to be operational with the arrival the first container ship on Halloween, the region stands ready to reap the harvest of anticipated spin off industries and opportunities that they promise.

The port is expected to quickly reach its capacity level as word spreads of the congestion free transit from ship to rail and on into the heartland of North America, plans are already well along for an expansion to phase two, a project that would bring Prince Rupert almost on par with Vancouver as far as through put capabilities for the world economy.

Full credit for today’s opening belongs with the offices of the Port of Prince Rupert, while many governmental and industrial partners joined in to help the project along the way, it was the vision and long hours that the Port put into the development that have resulted in today’s celebrations. One hundred years later, perhaps we're on the cusp of fulfilling Hays' long sought dream.

The opening has attracted a fair amount of attention in the national press, below are some of the highlights of the days news coverage of Prince Rupert’s arrival on the world stage.

Canadian Press-New container terminal opens in expanded port of Prince Rupert
Financial Post- Prince Rupert's hope
Prince George Citizen- Rupert port terminal opens tonight

As would be expected on a day such as this, The Daily News featured the debut of the Fairview Container Port as their front page story in this evening's paper.

NEW PORT SET TO COME ALIVE DURING OPENING CELEBRATION
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Page One

As the ships and trains begin arriving at the new Fairview Container Terminal next month, Don Krusel, president and CEO of the Prince Rupert Port Authority will be looking forward to the economic activity expected to follow.

"Once we get the opening ceremonies behind us, most of the focus will be on preparing for the first container vessel to arrive sometime in late October. Maher Terminals, as the operator of the terminal, will be making sure that the people and systems that are needed to operate the terminal are in top form for when that first ship arrives," said Krusel.

"After that first ship comes and goes, what most people can expect to see is the continuous and on-going pulse of activity, from a smooth-running transportation system where ships will come and go on a regular basis; where containers will be continuously loaded and unloaded from ships and trains; where trains, probably two trains per day in both directions, will come and go from the terminal.

"I hope and believe that what we will experience in this community once the terminal becomes operational, is the hum of an economic machine that will breathe new life into Prince Rupert."
The grand opening ceremonies for the Fairview Container Terminal take place starting at 11:30 p.m. and are by invitation. The 800 guests include Premier Gordon Campbell and David Emerson, Minister of International Trade and Pacific Gateway.

Then, the community celebration gets underway at 5 p.m. with buses available to ferry people to the terminal from both the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre, starting at 4:30 p.m., and the Chevron bus stop at 5:30 p.m.

Vehicle traffic will also be permitted at the terminal. However, there is limited parking so people are being asked to carpool.

The evening's entertainment includes the official opening ceremony, food, a kids zone, displays by CN and the Canadian Border Services Agency, musical acts such as the Uzume Taiko drummers and a fireworks display at around 9:30 p.m.

Due to the influx of guests for the events, some 10 charter planes were expected this morning at the Prince Rupert airport in addition to the usual air traffic. Regular flights are booked full with incoming travellers.

And hotel rooms have become a rare commodity as the community fills up for the long-anticipated celebration.

The $170-million facility is a partnership between the port, CN Rail, Maher Terminals and the federal and provincial governments. The new gateway will allow traffic to move from ships on to rail cars that will carry goods into central North America.

COSCO has signed on as the first shipper that will use the terminal.

"The first ship will be some time during October. It isn't the clearest of indications but it depends on the alignment of vessels and different services and the calling at different ports," said Frans van Riemsdyk, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Maher Terminals.
"The facility is done and we are ready to start handling business."

While COSCO is the only shipper to publicly announce its intentions to use the facility, van Riemsdyk said it is very possible there will be other shippers sharing space on the COSCO vessels.

"COSCO is part of an alliance and they all seem to support each other at their various calls around the world so it is my expectation we would have some others joining the services."

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