McDonnell to decide on port review panel

NORFOLK

The appointment of an independent review panel to weigh three proposals by private groups interested in leasing or helping to operate the Virginia Port Authority's terminals will be made by the incoming administration in Richmond, according to a spokeswoman for Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell.

"Once in office, Governor-elect McDonnell along with Secretary-designate Sean Connaughton will review and announce the panel to look at all proposals for the Port of Virginia," Taylor Thornley, a McDonnell spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.

"Ultimately the governor-elect's final decision for the port will be contingent on what will generate the most revenue to help build our transportation and trade infrastructure, and what will be the most beneficial for the Port, Hampton Roads and all of Virginia," she wrote.

Last year, three private firms - CenterPoint Properties Trust, The Carlyle Group and a partnership of Carrix Inc. and Goldman Sachs - submitted proposals to form profit-sharing, operating partnerships with the Virginia Port Authority lasting as long as 60 years.

The Port Authority would continue to own the port, while the private groups offer hundreds of millions of dollars in upfront cash payments and other inducements to manage the port's operations. The upfront cash offers range from $250 million to as much as $700 million.

Lease arrangements are common at many U.S. ports, including New York/New Jersey; Oakland, Calif.; and, most recently, Baltimore.

The proposals were made under the state's Public-Private Transportation Act, which allows public entities to enter into agreements that let private firms "develop and/or operate qualifying transportation facilities," according to state guidelines.

Under the act's provisions, the three proposals must be examined by a state-appointed "independent review panel," which considers whether any deserve to advance.

The appointment of the panel by outgoing Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer had been anticipated since Labor Day but was complicated by the disclosure that the Port Authority has been in talks with APM Terminals, under a "discussion agreement" that took effect Dec. 7, 2008, and was filed with the Federal Maritime Commission.

The talks, which are ongoing, involve the Port Authority possibly leasing of APM's 2-year-old, $500 million Portsmouth cargo container terminal.

Robert McCabe, (757) 446-2327, robert.mccabe@pilotonline.com