On January 13th, 2009 the TraPac Container Terminal at Dames Point in Jacksonville greeted its first ship.  The CMA CGM Virginia was the first calling vessel.  This represents a momentous day for the Port of Jacksonville and officially adds another player to the roster of East Coast Ports.

The Link: LINK

The Story: The Port of Oakland is soliciting proposals from interested private groups to provide “the master operation and maintenance, and long-term design, construction and finance of facilities of approximately 168 acres to support and enhance maritime activity”.

The Analysis: The opportunity in question is the redevelopment of a former Navy facility on land which is currently owned by the Port of Oakland.  As I understand it, the Port would like a private group to come in and sign a 30-year master lease on the parcel, to begin January 1, 2010.  The private group would then design, construct, finance and operate the facility.  At the end of the 30 year lease, the property and it’s improvements would revert back to the Port of Oakland.

The Public Private Partnership (PPP) idea is an interesting one and has been used very successfully internationally.  Several domestic ports are currently considering the structure to finance new capital programs.  However, the program is still young in the United States and there are issues that need to be worked out.  One issue that stood out to me with the Oakland proposal was the short duration (30 years).  I would want a longer horizon to amortize down my improvements.  This will be a significant capital outlay and a strong selling point for Oakland.  30-years seems a little too short.