American Association of Port Authorities 2008 Annual Convention

The Port and Municipality of Anchorage is hosting this year's annual conference of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) from September 21st to the 25th. The Association membership encompasses ports from all of the Americas. Seven hundred port delegates from South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Canada and the United States are in attendance.

Venues for the conference include the Anchorage Hilton, Alaska Native Heritage Center, Alaska Railroad, Dena'ina Conference Center, and Sourdough Mining Company. Guest speakers include James Bradley author of the bestseller Flags of Our Father and Flyboys, and noted Iditarod Sled Dog Race Champion Martin Buser. Speakers at the conference are making presentations on freight mobility, port security, port project financing, port facility capacity restraints, and the cruise industry.

Having the AAPA annual conference in Anchorage, Alaska is a unique event in the state and six years in it's planning. Staff of the Port has made an exceptional effort to make welcome visitors to our state and ensure a successful gathering.

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The Skagway Advantage

One of my professional pastimes is conducting port development and planning studies. The Municipality of Skagway working with industry partners and the Yukon Government has been engaged in a port development master planning effort for the last few months. A steering committee of key stakeholders has been guiding the efforts of our consultants, CH2M Hill, KPMG and Sandwell. The draft report was posted at the Yukon Port of Skagway website and approved with changes by the steering committee on 3 September 2008.

We will be working with our consultants to finish the executive summary and prepare the study for publishing. The report stresses the Skagway Advantage, our cost advantage for shipping freight to and from the Yukon. The Skagway Port Development Plan is going to be released during presentations made to the Opportunities North Conference being held in Whitehorse and to the Skagway Municipal Assembly on 2 October 2008.

The Yukon Port of Skagway is open and holds a bright promise for the future. The image attached to this post is the banner that will be on display at the Whitehorse conference in October.

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