By Mark Edward Nero
The Port of San Diego will host the American Association of Port Authorities 2014 Maritime Economic Development Workshop, taking place Feb. 20-21 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel.
The workshop is geared toward port development, marketing and logistics executives. Among the key topics is how to implement and fund transportation infrastructure projects for the growing volumes of imports and exports and cruise ship passengers that flow through their facilities.
The event is scheduled to feature a host of business and logistics experts, shipping company executives, infrastructure development case studies and a three-hour “facilitated dialogue” session to bring the collective knowledge of the entire audience to bear in solving some of the port industry’s economic challenges.
“Seaports in the Americas are investing billions of dollars to improve their infrastructure, expand their services, enhance their cargo- and passenger-handling capabilities, create jobs and assist businesses looking to tap into the increasing global demand for both raw materials and domestically-manufactured products,” AAPA President and CEO Kurt Nagle said. “In order to effectively compete, seaports must deal with issues ranging from finding investment partners and passing effective freight policy legislation at the federal level, to convincing their local and regional stakeholders the investments they are proposing are necessary and worthwhile.”
He added that the US needs to invest in its port facilities if it wants to compete as a maritime nation.
“Focusing on port infrastructure as a separate aspect of international trade obscures the dependence of seaports on a robust domestic surface transportation system,” he said.
More information about the 2014 Maritime Economic Development Workshop, including registration costs, is available at the AAPA website, http://www.aapa-ports.org/Programs/seminarschedule.cfm?itemnumber=19231, or by calling the AAPA’s Ed O’Connell at (703) 684-5700.
