News Release
FOR RELEASE - February 6, 2008
Contact: Aaron Ellis, aellis@aapa-ports.org
703-706-4714
American Association of Port Authorities
Phone: (202) 792-4033
www.aapa-ports.org
Today's seaports and seaport communities play an integral role in the global economy, providing a $2 trillion economic benefit in the United States alone. Increasingly, seaport facilities require structural improvement investments to support giant marine cargo and passenger terminals, major highway and rail links and large tracks of commercial property to keep commerce moving and fulfill their role as economic development "engines" for their communities.
This evolving role for seaports in their local communities has also grown to encompass investment partnerships, community planning, and emergency response preparation. To assist ports in these efforts and provide them tools to attract, finance and protect their infrastructure investments, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) will hold its "Partnerships in Planning and Development" seminar in San Diego, Feb. 25-27.
Co-sponsored by the National Association of Regional Councils and hosted by the Port of San Diego, this 2½-day seminar will be split into three distinct sections-economic development, transportation planning and financing, and emergency preparation and response-with the theme of the conference being to find and nurture project partners and partnerships.
"Coordination between ports, other agencies and industry partners that bring critical infrastructure projects to fruition is vital to keeping cargo moving and port communities economically vibrant," said Kurt Nagle, AAPA's president and CEO. "This seminar will give attendees valuable tools to strategically coordinate and successfully implement undertakings ranging from new marine terminal developments in response to cargo volume increases to rebuilding facilities after a natural disaster such as a storm. It will also present valuable case studies, giving participants opportunities to share information and discuss experiences with each other."
Day One's activities will focus on attracting strategic investments for a port's long-term sustainability and growth. The morning's sessions specifically target how to successfully partner with state, federal, regional and municipal economic development organizations as well as industry partners to attract strategic investments for economic development. That afternoon, seminar attendees will discuss successful examples of how ports can serve their communities as engines and financiers for stimulating their local economies. Later that day, successful examples of redevelopment and reuse of existing port facilities will be featured.
Session topics for the morning of Day Two will focus on emergency preparation and response. The sessions will both outline local, state, and federal roles in emergency situations, and present case studies on effective partnerships in emergency preparation and response. After lunch, seminar speakers will turn their focus to transportation planning and financing. These sessions will address methods for attendees to work with various governmental entities, including officials with the federal Department of Transportation (DOT), state DOTs, regional councils and metropolitan planning organizations. The final session of the day will feature a tutorial on successful methods for acquiring funding through programs such as the Federal-Aid Highway Program and the Highway Trust Fund.
The seminar's final day will delve into successful examples of transportation planning and developing partnerships. First will be a presentation on how to incorporate port access and freight mobility needs into the regional transportation process. The seminar's final session will be a discussion of several case studies on how to develop partnerships in regional and local transportation planning.
More information about AAPA's Planning and Development Seminar is available at www.aapa-ports.org (click on the "Programs & Events" tab) or by calling AAPA's Ed O'Connell at 703-706-4709.
| WHO: | American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) |
| WHAT: | Seminar covering partnerships in planning and development. |
| WHEN: | February 25-27, 2008 (Day 1, 8:00am-4:45pm; Day 2, 9:00am-4:30pm; Day 3, 8:30am-11:30am) |
| WHERE: | Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter, 401 K Street, San Diego, CA; tel: 619-231-4040 |
| MEDIA: | Credentialed journalists interested in covering the seminar for media purposes are asked to contact Aaron Ellis, aellis@aapa-ports.org, to obtain a media pass. |
