Port of N.Y.-N.J. remains committed to projects

Port of N.Y.-N.J. remains committed to projects The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is going to remain committed to its capital spending plans in the port despite the slowdown in the world trade.

Larrabee

   “No matter how long or how deep it is, the next couple of years are going to be tough for us. But from our perspective we truly believe the forces in play are going to bring cargo back here. Perhaps not what we saw in the go-go years of the last five to 10 years, but a moderate pace,” said Richard M. Larrabee, director of the port department, speaking at a reception for port customers Thursday evening.
   “When you look around the country at places like the West Coast you realize we are in fairly decent shape,” he said, noting that while total cargo volumes are off about 0.3 percent this year compared to 2007, loaded container volumes are actually 5 percent higher than last year.
   “The port authority stays committed on an almost $2 billion capital plan for the next 10 years,” he said. The plan includes dredging the port’s main shipping channels to 50 feet and making $650 million in improvements to its Expressrail intermodal container transfer facilities, which will boost annual lift capacity at the port’s rail terminals from 400,000 containers nearly 1 million.
   The project to expand the Panama Canal so that it can handle ships of up to 12,000-TEU capacities “has caught our attention like no other event in the last couple of years,” he said. He noted the port is looking at modifying or replacing the Bayonne Bridge so that larger ships can be accommodated at the port’s larger container facilities.
   Larrabee also said the port is preparing a clean air strategy for the port.
   “It is essential that we stay out ahead of this issue as much as we possibly can. We are all watching what is going on the West Coast. We are not that far away in that I believe those forces are going to be at our doorstep,” he said. “There are a number of good practices that we can put in place and we will be reaching out to stakeholders — shipping lines, terminal operators or whether your are in the trucking or rail business.” ' Chris Dupin