Pipe will boost tonnage at Port of Albany

Pipe will boost tonnage at Port of Albany A new gas pipeline being built in New York State is expected to boost volumes at the Port of Albany over the next year.
   The first of 10 to 12 ships loaded with Italian-manufactured coated pipe for use in the so-called Millennium Pipeline was offloaded at the Port of Albany on Monday. The 30-inch-diameter pipe is shipped in 40-foot lengths and is manufactured by Ilva in Milan, Italy.
   The port expects to receive more than 60,000 tons of pipe, which will be used to build a 186-mile long pipeline that will stretch from Corning in Steuben County to Ramapo in Rockland County.
   Construction is expected to begin later this year and the pipeline is expected to be operational in late 2008.
   “Delivery of this pipe represents a major milestone for our project, and we’re very pleased this day has finally arrived after years of planning and preparation,” said Dick Leehr, Millennium Pipeline president. “This first shipment means that we will be able to stay on schedule and construct approximately 12 miles of the Millennium Pipeline, as planned, at several locations in Orange and Rockland counties starting in June.”
   The pipeline will expand New York State’s access to natural gas supplies. The pipeline will connect at Corning with the Empire State Pipeline that runs to Canada, and will connect to the Algonquin and Iroquois Pipelines at Ramapo, which will connect to the New York City metropolitan area.
   After the pipe is unloaded at the port, it will be loaded onto trucks and driven to various locations along the pipeline route, including Owego, Deposit, Liberty, and Tuxedo.
   Millennium Pipeline customers include Keyspan Energy Delivery on Long Island, Consolidated Edison of New York, Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corp. and Columbia Gas Transmission Corp.
   Millennium will serve markets along its route in the Southern Tier and Lower Hudson Valley as well as providing essential service to the New York City markets through its pipeline interconnections. Millennium is jointly owned by affiliates of NiSource Inc., KeySpan Corp., and DTE Energy.