AAPA: Infrastructure Development & Financing Seminar
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More Than 100 Attend AAPA Infrastructure Development & Financing Seminar
More than 100 executives and professional staff representing ports from all four AAPA delegations, private-sector businesses, state and federal government agencies, associations and nonprofit organizations participated March 9-10 in AAPA’s Infrastructure Development and Financing Seminar in San Diego.
AAPA developed the seminar specifically to help its member ports meet challenges related to planning, developing and funding port-related infrastructure. The program included sessions on project planning (including market analysis, quantifying need and evaluating options); steps for determining project feasibility; and identifying project "pay-for" options, including public-private partnerships, government grants and financing programs, and sourcing capital from other sources.
Opening the seminar was Jock O’Connell, an international trade economist with Sacramento’s Beacon Economics and the Clark Street Group, together with Ira Smelkinson, executive director for Morgan Stanley, based in Manhattan. Each shared unique insights on current world markets related to ports, including assessing opportunities for investment returns on major port capital projects.
The first day was devoted largely to the Port Planning and Investment Toolkit, developed over the past two years by AAPA and the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD). In addition to executives from WSP/Parsons Brinkerhoff and The PFM Group who helped develop the toolkit, three MARAD officials from Washington (DC) participated as speakers on the second day to help audience members better understand the processes involved in getting federal grants and loans for financing their infrastructure endeavors.
The seminar concluded with a compelling discussion of "public-public partnerships," with three different speakers sharing their ideas on how port projects can benefit by aligning with state DOTs, local and regional planning authorities and academic institutions. That session followed a pair of concurrent breakout sessions in different rooms, in which audience members could choose to either participate in discussions focusing on infrastructure project financing or project development.
More than 100 executives and professional staff representing ports from all four AAPA delegations, private-sector businesses, state and federal government agencies, associations and nonprofit organizations participated March 9-10 in AAPA’s Infrastructure Development and Financing Seminar in San Diego.
AAPA developed the seminar specifically to help its member ports meet challenges related to planning, developing and funding port-related infrastructure. The program included sessions on project planning (including market analysis, quantifying need and evaluating options); steps for determining project feasibility; and identifying project "pay-for" options, including public-private partnerships, government grants and financing programs, and sourcing capital from other sources.
Opening the seminar was Jock O’Connell, an international trade economist with Sacramento’s Beacon Economics and the Clark Street Group, together with Ira Smelkinson, executive director for Morgan Stanley, based in Manhattan. Each shared unique insights on current world markets related to ports, including assessing opportunities for investment returns on major port capital projects.
The first day was devoted largely to the Port Planning and Investment Toolkit, developed over the past two years by AAPA and the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD). In addition to executives from WSP/Parsons Brinkerhoff and The PFM Group who helped develop the toolkit, three MARAD officials from Washington (DC) participated as speakers on the second day to help audience members better understand the processes involved in getting federal grants and loans for financing their infrastructure endeavors.
The seminar concluded with a compelling discussion of "public-public partnerships," with three different speakers sharing their ideas on how port projects can benefit by aligning with state DOTs, local and regional planning authorities and academic institutions. That session followed a pair of concurrent breakout sessions in different rooms, in which audience members could choose to either participate in discussions focusing on infrastructure project financing or project development.
Seminar presentations are available on the AAPA website.
Seminar attendees included representatives from each of AAPA’s four geographic delegations: Canada, U.S., Caribbean and Latin America
Morgan Stanley Executive Director Ira Smelkinson (at podium) and Beacon Economics International Economist Jock O’Connell kicked off the seminar with an economic analysis of world markets.
An interactive session led by U.S. Maritime Administration officials helped participants to identify sources of funding for various types of port capital projects.
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