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Terminal Development: Lake Charles, Longview, Virginia

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Lake Charles Receives $10 Million Grant for Bulk Terminal Expansion   

The Port of Lake Charles has received a $10 million federal TIGER grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the expansion of its Bulk Terminal 1.

The project includes a barge fleeting area, new berths, a bulkhead and conveyors. The grant will also fund the dredging necessary for infrastructure improvements.

The port will go out for public bid once the design package is formalized. Construction is expected to begin in 2015.

The bulk terminal expansion is tied to plans by Lake Charles Clean Energy to construct a $2.6 billion methanol manufacturing facility on adjacent property leased from the port district. The plant will reportedly create 1,500 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs.

"Without the dock expansion there could be no [Lake Charles Clean Energy] project," said Port Executive Director Bill Rase. "This is great news for the port and Southwest Louisiana. We’re quite satisfied that we were able to get this grant." 

Bulk Terminal 1 and the future site of the Lake Charles Clean Energy methanol manufacturing facility.
Photo/Port of Lake Charles


Longview Reports Progress in LPG Terminal Negotiations

The Port of Longview and Haven Energy are "finding common commercial ground" in Haven’s proposal to develop a propane/butane export terminal, reports Port Chief Executive Officer Geir-Eilif Kalhagen.

The port has been negotiating with Haven Energy, a subsidiary of Sage Midstream, since April (Advisory, April 15, 2014). According to Mr. Kalhagen, the two parties have made considerable progress toward an agreement concerning port property and dock use.

"We are making progress and have closed a lot of the gaps," he said. "We look forward presenting to the commission a proposed lease in the near future."

Haven proposes to move propane and butane, much of which is currently being flared, to provide clean energy to markets around the Pacific Rim. The plan calls for the cargo to be transported by rail to the port and refrigerated and stored on site before being loaded to vessels for export to Hawaii, Mexico and Asia.

Haven Energy estimates its terminal would receive a train every day and a half and about 30 vessels a year at full operation.

During construction, Haven Energy estimates it will create 2,000 construction jobs with an estimated payroll of $135 million. Once operational, Haven Energy expects it will create between 110 and 125 direct and indirect jobs and generate $80 million in local and state tax revenues during its first 20 years of operation.

Haven Energy must undergo an evaluation under Washington’s State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).


Virginia Reopens Portsmouth Marine Terminal to Container Traffic, First Vessel Due in Early October

The Port of Virginia marked an important milestone with the September 15 reopening of Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT) to container traffic after nearly three years of inactivity.

"Sustained growth in our container business necessitates PMT’s return to service and is a sign of health for The Port of Virginia," said John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority (VPA). "Reopening the berth at PMT to container operations is the first phase of a larger plan to establish the terminal as a multi-use facility and improve service to our customers."

The first vessel call is scheduled for early October. From that point forward the 30-acre facility will process between 75,000 and 100,000 containers annually. The operation will be "wheeled," or containers-on-chassis; there will be no stacked containers except for units in the empty yard.

In preparation, the port authority has allocated some $7 million for maintenance and repair of the facility. That money was used for repaving, striping to denote parking areas for chassis, wharf repair, upgrade of buildings (painting, carpet, copiers, computers, desks, etc.) technology upgrades and reactivating the truck gates cranes.


PMT container cranes.
Photo/Port of Virginia

The terminal is owned by the VPA and will be operated by Virginia International Terminals, LLC. Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association will handle the vessel, gate and terminal services. Sworn VPA port police officers will team with professional contractors to secure the terminal. 

"Reconstituting a portion of PMT will provide some relief at Virginia International Gateway (VIG) and NIT, as both of those terminals are busy and pushing their capacity limits," Mr. Reinhart said. "PMT is a deep-water facility that will serve an important role for our purposes, but over the long-term as a facility that handles many different types of cargo: bulk, breakbulk and Ro-Ro."

VIG is the former APM Terminals Virginia terminal, which was sold in August to Alinda Capital Partners. It is operated by the VPA under a 20-year lease agreement that took effect in July 2010. NIT is Norfolk International Terminals.


PMT Gate.
Photo/Port of Virginia

In 1967 PMT opened for business and on September 20, of that year, Atlantic Container Line’s M/V Atlantic Span became the first commercial ship to call the terminal. For 43 years, the facility serviced thousands of ships and processed millions of containers and large quantities of general cargo.

In late 2010, following the successful negotiation of a 20-year operating lease for VIG, the VPA made a strategic decision to shutter PMT. By January 2011, all former PMT customers and cargo had been consolidated at VIG, allowing the port to achieve the full benefit of that facility’s automation and efficiency. For more than three years, PMT was largely dormant.

In spring 2014, a short-term cooperative agreement between the port and Pasha Automotive Services brought business back to PMT (Advisory, April 15, 2014). During a two month period, Pasha staged and processed more than 6,000 Chrysler-Jeep vehicles at PMT for export to the Asia-Pacific market.

Similar operations hold promise for PMT’s future, Mr. Reinhart said: "We’re always open to evaluating options for maximizing the facility to generate economic benefits for the Commonwealth and jobs for our region."

PMT Container Yard with freshly painted stripes.
Photo/Port of Virginia
 

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