Anchorage Daily News
Author: Aubrey Wieber
The city of Anchorage landed a $20 million grant to further cut into the cost of rebuilding the Port of Alaska’s cement and petroleum terminal.
The grant, given by the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration, was announced Tuesday. Port spokesman Jim Jager said Alaska’s congressional delegation helped in securing the grant.
In-water construction of the new terminal will start this spring and finish in fall 2021. It’s expected to cost a little more than $200 million, according to Jager.
In November, the city announced a $25 million grant toward the project, also from the Transportation Department.
With the new grant, there is a roughly $35 million deficit for the terminal rebuild. The port will bond for that money and pay off the bonds with tariffs, Jager said.
“This absolutely reduces the need for customer money, tariff money,” Jager said. "It’s money that Alaskans will not be paying for the dock.”
The port’s aging infrastructure was damaged during the November 2018 earthquake. The new terminal should withstand a more powerful earthquake than the 1964 Good Friday earthquake.
Read Full Story Here:
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2020/02/14/feds-give-anchorage-20-million-for-port-of-alaska/
Dan Sullivan
United States Senator for Alaska
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded a $20 million Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) grant to the Port of Alaska, located in Anchorage.
“I want to thank Secretary Chao for recognizing the dire state of one of Alaska’s most important pieces of infrastructure and heeding the call of Alaskans by approving this much-needed PIDP grant,” said Senator Sullivan. “The Port of Alaska not only serves the most basic needs of a broad swath of Alaskans – including fuel, food, construction materials, and other goods – but also America’s security interests as an Arctic nation. The Port of Alaska is the only Department of Defense strategic seaport near the Arctic—a fact we cannot overlook as sea ice recedes, traffic accelerates and our country’s adversaries, particularly Russia, grow their maritime capabilities in the region. This grant will help restore the Port of Alaska’s status as a safe, cost-effective, reliable and resilient piece of infrastructure."
“Our ports are an integral component of our Nation’s economic success,” said Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao. “As the Administration continues to invest in America’s infrastructure, this program will further modernize and improve the efficiency of our waterways.”
BACKGROUND:
In August 2017, Senator Sullivan hosted Secretary Chao in Alaska and facilitated a meeting between Port of Alaska Director Steve Ribuffo and the secretary to make an appeal for funding the port.
In May 2019, Senator Sullivan held a hearing on the state of our federal maritime agencies as a build-up to the reauthorization of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD). Witnesses included Rear Admiral Mark H. Buzby, administrator of MARAD.
In July 2019, Senator Sullivan met with Admiral Buzby, TRANSCOM Commander Lyons, and senior officials in the Department of Transportation to discuss the needs at the port and the new program at MARAD.
In September 2019, Senator Sullivan wrote Secretary Chao in support of the Port of Alaska’s MARAD Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) grant.
On November 6, 2019, the Department of Transportation awarded a $25 million Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant to the Port of Alaska.
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.
Read Full Story Here:
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.
Read Full Story Here:
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.
Read Full Story Here:
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.
Read Full Story Here:
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.
Read Full Story Here:
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.
Read Full Story Here:
https://www.adn.com/politics/2019/12/29/municipal-leaders-ask-state-to-borrow-cash-for-anchorage-port-and-other-harbor-projects/
