An editorial in the Prince George Citizen is urging Port officials at the Port of Prince Rupert to think big, and think fast. The editorial page of that city's paper is adding its voice to the growing call for a fast track to development for the next phases of the Fairview Container Port.
Culling an article from the July edition of BC Business magazine, the editorial worries that if the Port doesn’t expand fast enough to Phases II and beyond, then there is a possibility of it being left behind by planned ports on the Mexican pacific coast.
Concerned that the slower pace of development may become costly to inland cities, the editorial is of the opinion that the expansion should happen much sooner rather than later.
Intense competition for Asian business might mean the timetable for Prince Rupert should be moved up, giving a good thing every opportunity to become a great thing, or at the very least, remain good.
They are impressed with the “new life in the sleepy north coast city” and of course more than aware of the benefits that the Port is providing for Prince George and beyond, which is why they’re pulling out the pom pom’s and watching the clock.
Golden opportunity
(Opinion) Friday, 03 August 2007, 00:00 PST
by -- Editor Dave Paulson
The port expansion underway in Prince Rupert has breathed new life into the sleepy north coast city. Prince George is riding on its coattails with CN's $20-million container loading facility under construction between First Avenue and River Road.
Both cities are positioned to reap big dividends from China's exploding export market in consumer goods targeted at insatiable North Americans.
The question is: Is Prince Rupert's expansion, planned in two phases, going to happen quickly enough?
Veteran journalist Don Whiteley, writing in the current issue of BC Business magazine, suggests the port development "is looking like the most important piece of infrastructure in northern B.C. since the railway came through almost a century ago."
It's hard to argue the point.
Ports up and down the Pacific coast in North America are running out of capacity to handle the expected growth in the number of containers arriving from China over the next several years. Prince Rupert has a deep, ice-free port that's two or three days closer to Asia than Vancouver, Seattle-Tacoma and Long Beach, Calif.
Prince Rupert Port Authority CEO Don Krusel recognized the future for ports was in handling containers, and Rupert couldn't. So Krusel, a 1974 graduate of Prince George secondary, set about convincing people that Prince Rupert could be a viable container terminal and could one day rival the port of Vancouver.
Phase one of the Fairview Container Terminal opens in October with a capacity of 500,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units, the standard for measuring containers). Phase two would bring the port's capacity to two million TEUs by 2011 and projections are for four million TEUs by 2020. (By comparison, Vancouver handled 2.2 million TEUs last year and expects five million by 2020.)
But according to BC Business, there are concerns Prince Rupert won't expand quickly enough to meet Chinese demand and could be buried by an upstart port, in Mexico specifically.
There is certainly room for growth on this side of the Pacific. Consultants predict China will build more than 100 container berths in the next 10 years, but only five are at the planning stage on North America's west coast, the article says.
The Prince Rupert Port Authority borrowed $25 million for phase one, but the Canada Marine Act says it can't borrow for further expansion until the first debt is repaid. A consultant who specializes in business strategy also cited unresolved disputes with First Nations over the phase two expansion as a potentially serious roadblock to Prince Rupert's development.
Meantime, according to the article, the consultant fears a fast-acting Mexican government could develop a port on its Pacific coast that surpasses Prince Rupert if governments don't put it on the fast track.
There are legions of supporters of the Rupert container port. The cities of Prince Rupert, Prince George and Edmonton have already signed an agreement to develop a business corridor to take advantage of Asian trade.
Memphis, Tenn., is a vital rail and air cargo centre where Prince Rupert has become a household name, according to BC Business, because of port congestion on the U.S. west coast. CN plans to run daily train service to Memphis once Prince Rupert's terminal opens, Whiteley writes.
Culling an article from the July edition of BC Business magazine, the editorial worries that if the Port doesn’t expand fast enough to Phases II and beyond, then there is a possibility of it being left behind by planned ports on the Mexican pacific coast.
Concerned that the slower pace of development may become costly to inland cities, the editorial is of the opinion that the expansion should happen much sooner rather than later.
Intense competition for Asian business might mean the timetable for Prince Rupert should be moved up, giving a good thing every opportunity to become a great thing, or at the very least, remain good.
They are impressed with the “new life in the sleepy north coast city” and of course more than aware of the benefits that the Port is providing for Prince George and beyond, which is why they’re pulling out the pom pom’s and watching the clock.
Golden opportunity
(Opinion) Friday, 03 August 2007, 00:00 PST
by -- Editor Dave Paulson
The port expansion underway in Prince Rupert has breathed new life into the sleepy north coast city. Prince George is riding on its coattails with CN's $20-million container loading facility under construction between First Avenue and River Road.
Both cities are positioned to reap big dividends from China's exploding export market in consumer goods targeted at insatiable North Americans.
The question is: Is Prince Rupert's expansion, planned in two phases, going to happen quickly enough?
Veteran journalist Don Whiteley, writing in the current issue of BC Business magazine, suggests the port development "is looking like the most important piece of infrastructure in northern B.C. since the railway came through almost a century ago."
It's hard to argue the point.
Ports up and down the Pacific coast in North America are running out of capacity to handle the expected growth in the number of containers arriving from China over the next several years. Prince Rupert has a deep, ice-free port that's two or three days closer to Asia than Vancouver, Seattle-Tacoma and Long Beach, Calif.
Prince Rupert Port Authority CEO Don Krusel recognized the future for ports was in handling containers, and Rupert couldn't. So Krusel, a 1974 graduate of Prince George secondary, set about convincing people that Prince Rupert could be a viable container terminal and could one day rival the port of Vancouver.
Phase one of the Fairview Container Terminal opens in October with a capacity of 500,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units, the standard for measuring containers). Phase two would bring the port's capacity to two million TEUs by 2011 and projections are for four million TEUs by 2020. (By comparison, Vancouver handled 2.2 million TEUs last year and expects five million by 2020.)
But according to BC Business, there are concerns Prince Rupert won't expand quickly enough to meet Chinese demand and could be buried by an upstart port, in Mexico specifically.
There is certainly room for growth on this side of the Pacific. Consultants predict China will build more than 100 container berths in the next 10 years, but only five are at the planning stage on North America's west coast, the article says.
The Prince Rupert Port Authority borrowed $25 million for phase one, but the Canada Marine Act says it can't borrow for further expansion until the first debt is repaid. A consultant who specializes in business strategy also cited unresolved disputes with First Nations over the phase two expansion as a potentially serious roadblock to Prince Rupert's development.
Meantime, according to the article, the consultant fears a fast-acting Mexican government could develop a port on its Pacific coast that surpasses Prince Rupert if governments don't put it on the fast track.
There are legions of supporters of the Rupert container port. The cities of Prince Rupert, Prince George and Edmonton have already signed an agreement to develop a business corridor to take advantage of Asian trade.
Memphis, Tenn., is a vital rail and air cargo centre where Prince Rupert has become a household name, according to BC Business, because of port congestion on the U.S. west coast. CN plans to run daily train service to Memphis once Prince Rupert's terminal opens, Whiteley writes.
.
Governments and businesses are bullish on Prince Rupert, to be sure. Ottawa and Victoria both contributed $30 million for the first phase, Maher Terminals of New Jersey chipped in $60 million and CN is spending $30 million on rail upgrades and new equipment.
But in the container business, it seems it's best not to rest.
Prince Rupert holds the promise of something great for northern B.C., but there are no guarantees.
Intense competition for Asian business might mean the timetable for Prince Rupert should be moved up, giving a good thing every opportunity to become a great thing, or at the very least, remain good.
In other words, think big.
-- Editor Dave Paulson
Governments and businesses are bullish on Prince Rupert, to be sure. Ottawa and Victoria both contributed $30 million for the first phase, Maher Terminals of New Jersey chipped in $60 million and CN is spending $30 million on rail upgrades and new equipment.
But in the container business, it seems it's best not to rest.
Prince Rupert holds the promise of something great for northern B.C., but there are no guarantees.
Intense competition for Asian business might mean the timetable for Prince Rupert should be moved up, giving a good thing every opportunity to become a great thing, or at the very least, remain good.
In other words, think big.
-- Editor Dave Paulson
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