KTUU Channel 2 News
By Matt Leseman
ANCHORAGE (KTUU) The US Department of Transportation Maritime Administration announced Tuesday that it will award the Port of Alaska with a $20 million grant to aid in the construction of a new cement and petroleum terminal.
The grant comes on top of another $25 million dollar grant from the DOT in 2019, as well as various other sources of state and federal funding funding the construction, which is estimated to cost just over $200 million. The final puzzle piece of the terminal's funding comes in the form of a tariff, recently passed by the Anchorage Assembly, set to fund roughly $42 million of the terminal.
How this new grant will affect the tariff is currently unclear. The tariff is set to increase yearly until 2029, and will see its final adjustments after the terminal is complete and the total cost is known. The terminal is currently slated to be finished in 2021. Whether the costs exceed or go under the estimate will be the truly deciding factor in the tariff.
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https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Port-of-Alaska-announces-new-federal-grant-567791351.html
KTVA News
By: Joe Vigil
Anchorage municipal manager Bill Falsey called Tuesday a "good day" after it was announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded a $20 million infrastructure development grant to the Port of Alaska.
Municipal leaders say the Port Infrastructure Development Program grant is on top of a $25 million Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development grant DOT awarded last November.
The grant will go toward the port's modernization project, which includes construction of a new petroleum and cement terminal. The Municipality of Anchorage estimates the terminal will cost more than $200 million.
Jim Jager, the external affairs director for the port, said the port instituted new fuel and cement tariffs in the beginning of January that will be used to pay the remaining petroleum cement terminal construction costs.
Municipal officials expect the terminal to be functional by the end of next year; in-water construction is expected to start in the spring.
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https://www.ktva.com/clip/15003809/dot-awards-dollar20-million-infrastructure-development-grant-to-port-of-alaska
Alaska Public Media
By: Zachariah Hughes
The Port of Alaska is getting another boost in federal funding.
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan’s office announced Tuesday that the federal Department of Transportation Maritime Administration is awarding a $20 million grant to pay for infrastructure improvements.
“This grant will help restore the Port of Alaska’s status as a safe, cost-effective, reliable and resilient piece of infrastructure,” Sullivan said.
This follows a separate $25 million grant from the Department of Transportation for the port in November.
“The $20 million dollars is unambiguously good news for the Port of Alaska, and for the state generally,” said Anchorage Municipal Manager Bill Falsey.
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https://www.ktoo.org/2020/02/12/another-bump-in-federal-cash-coming-to-corroding-port-of-alaska/
ANCHORAGE, AK— The U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced today that it awarded a $20 million infrastructure development grant to help replace aging Port of Alaska docks.
MARAD’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) offered $292.7 million in nationwide grant opportunities in 2019 to pay up to 80 percent of project costs for U.S. coastal seaport improvements. Port of Alaska applied for PIDP funding to help offset construction costs of its new petroleum and cement terminal (PCT) that starts in-water construction this spring.
Municipality of Anchorage officials worked closely with federal officials, including Alaska congressional delegation members, to pursue this PIDP grant and other state and federal funds to build the PCT.
“This is great news,” said Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz. “When Alaskans work together, Alaska wins. This grant is an example of the Municipality, the Port of Alaska, and our Congressional delegation working hard so we can pound pilings and secure a critical piece of infrastructure.”
This $20 million PIDP grant combined with the $25 million Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant that that the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the port last November will offset a significant portion of the more than $200 million projected PCT costs. The State of Alaska also awarded $20 million in 2019 to help construct the PCT. Port of Alaska instituted new fuel and cement tariffs on Jan. 1, 2020 that will be used to pay remaining PCT construction costs.
Port of Alaska in Anchorage handles about half of all Alaska inbound fuel and freight, half of which is delivered to final destinations outside of Anchorage. PCT construction is the first phase of Port of Alaska’s modernization program that aims to replace aging docks and related infrastructure before they fail due to a combination of corrosion, upper Cook Inlet’s harsh marine environment and seismic stress.
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake in November 2018 caused considerable damage to the port’s two petroleum terminals (that also handle most of the cement used statewide). Both docks were reinforced in 2019 but full repair is impossible and they remain at severe risk of seismic failure. The PCT is designed and being constructed to survive an earthquake more powerful than Southcentral Alaska’s 1964 Good Friday earthquake. In-water construction starts on the PCT’s trestle and deck this spring. Muni officials expect to issue a request for proposals later this month to contract to finish PCT construction in 2021.
Muni officials are currently working with port and transportation stakeholders to refine new general cargo terminal plans. Port of Alaska’s general cargo terminals suffer the same age, corrosion and seismic issues as the fuel docks and must be replaced before they fail due to a loss of load-bearing capacity, which could occur within the next eight years, or sooner if there is another large earthquake.
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Jim Jager, External Affairs Director, Port of Alaska
(907) 538-3277, jim.jager@anchorageak.gov
The Associated Press
The cost of operating some businesses at the Port of Alaska is expected to increase following new tariffs on commodities that took effect with the onset of the new year.
The Anchorage Assembly unanimously approved the tariff increases Dec. 17, The Alaska Journal of Commerce reported Tuesday.
The tariff hikes include charges on fuel that will increase 4 to 5 cents per year to reach 56.3 cents per barrel by 2029. The final tariff on cement will reach $5.72 per ton in 2029.
The tariff increases for fuels and cement are equal on a per-ton basis, port spokesman Jim Jager said.
The tariff increases are significantly greater than normal updates to account for inflation and port operational costs.
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https://apnews.com/ca34b48df729fad815ecd2f587d1fb2f
Anchorage Daily News
Author: Elwood Brehmer , Alaska Journal of Commerce
It’s a little more expensive for most companies to move fuel and cement across the docks at the Anchorage port.
The Anchorage Assembly approved new tariffs on the commodities on Dec. 17. While the import charges are regularly updated to account for inflation and operational costs at the port — renamed the Port of Alaska in 2017 — the latest tariff hike is significantly greater than normal in order to help fund construction of a new, roughly $200 million petroleum and cement terminal, or PCT.
The new PCT will be the first construction of new dock facilities at the aging port since 2010 when severe damage to installed sheet pile was discovered and the original port expansion project was halted. That project spent roughly $300 million of public money but left little to show for it.
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https://www.adn.com/business-economy/2020/01/03/tariff-increases-funding-port-of-alaska-expansion-take-effect/
Alaska Journal of Commerce
By: Elwood Brehmer
Beginning Jan. 1 it will be a little more expensive for most companies to move fuel and cement across the docks at the Anchorage port.
That’s because the Anchorage Assembly approved new tariffs on the commodities on Dec. 17. While the import charges are regularly updated to account for inflation and operational costs at the port — renamed the Port of Alaska in 2017 — the latest tariff hike is significantly greater than normal in order to help fund construction of a new, roughly $200 million petroleum and cement terminal, or PCT.
The new PCT will be the first construction of new dock facilities at the aging port since 2010 when severe damage to installed sheet pile was discovered and the original port expansion project was halted. That project spent roughly $300 million of public money but left little to show for it.
No one disputes that the badly corroded docks at the port need to be overhauled or replaced, but representatives from fuel and cement companies that use the port have consistently argued against immediate major tariff increases throughout the nearly yearlong debate on the issue. They insisted changes should not be made to tariff rates until a construction and funding plan was again in place for the overall port modernization project, not just the PCT.
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https://www.alaskajournal.com/2019-12-31/assembly-approves-tariff-increase-fund-port-alaska-work
Anchorage Daily News
Author: James Brooks
The Alaska Municipal League is asking state lawmakers to take out a loan to pay for needed port and harbor improvements across Alaska, including work at the Port of Alaska in Anchorage.
But top lawmakers aren’t yet willing to go along, saying the state first needs to resolve a $1.5 billion deficit forecast for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
Alaska has slashed its capital budget for years, leading to a billion-dollar backlog of deferred maintenance projects at state facilities and on municipal infrastructure that was built by the state in fat years when oil prices were high and revenue was available.
“There is a lack of funding. There’s a need for funding so we can maintain and improve the facilities around the state,” said Bryan Hawkins, Homer’s harbormaster and president of the Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators.
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https://www.adn.com/politics/2019/12/29/municipal-leaders-ask-state-to-borrow-cash-for-anchorage-port-and-other-harbor-projects/
KTVA News
By: Joe Vigil
The Port of Alaska recently showed KTVA damage from the 7.1 earthquake. Several piles, which hold up docks at the port, split at the weld points.
"It's put together like a paper towel roll, like those Pillsbury rolls, dinner rolls," said Port Director Steve Ribuffo.
Ribuffo added, "You can't use that anymore because once it's untwisted you can't twist it back and weld it back."
The port has been working to repair piles, with all of them suffering corrosion damage over the years. The port says there are more than 1,400 in all.
"For years we have been doing this annual wharf pile repair program and putting sleeves on the piles to combat the corrosion in order to continue to keep the load bearing capacity on the docks going," Ribuffo said.
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https://www.ktva.com/story/41382318/port-of-alaska-discusses-71-earthquake-and-efforts-to-minimize-damage-in-another-quake
Petroleum News
By: Steve Sutherlin
The Port of Alaska has garnered a $25 million grant from the federal “Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Discretionary Grants program,” to build the third and final phase of an upgrade to its petroleum products and cement handling facilities, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao said Nov. 12.
The cost of the project is $81 million, based on current engineering projections, said Jim Jager, director of external affairs for the port. The port has yet to see any contractor bids on the project.
Despite a $25 million cash infusion, the port will not reduce initial tariffs under a 10-year, escalating user fee schedule adopted by the Port Commission, he said.
Reductions of the rates would be more likely once the total costs of the project - including financing - are known, Jager said, adding that the port’s overall cost estimate has already factored in some degree of success in attracting grants, as well as an anticipation of favorable financing terms.
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https://www.petroleumnews.com/pntruncate/264025244.shtml
