Now We Can Sell An Extended Runway To The World: One Man's Opinion

By Ben Meisner

The moment the money was in place for the extension of The Prince George Airport, that was the real moment the executives from the airport could hit the pavement seeking cargo unloading and sorting in this city.

Until Friday cargo firms that operate into the western hemisphere from the orient,  were being told that we planned a runway extension and we would like to have them on board. That promise is simply not enough in a world where plans are shelved every day.

This week Anchorage, Alaska, which  has stayed surprisingly silent on the matter, will find that in the market place it has  competition, competition from a source that can offer up a cost saving alternate.

There are wrinkles, for example ensuring that there is sufficient jet- A fuel available for these transports. That may require changing the refining at the existing refinery and producing the product if the demand is sufficiently high.

We will need to carve our way into the market and with a dollar riding at par with the US buck that makes it more difficult. Those however are not $33 million dollar problems, they are fixable.

The runway extension will rival any container port that might be planned in conjunction with the Super Port in Prince Rupert. It is a project that makes far more sense and is a project that is much more economically feasible than suggesting we will be able to sort cargo from the super port in this city. We may be able to stuff returning containers with pulp, paper and oh yes raw logs but product manufactured in central BC is a long shot at best.

Taking the trucks that at present haul pulp and paper off the highway to Vancouver will also cost us jobs and our hope in the short term will be in being CN’s service area for the long haul between Prince Rupert and Edmonton.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.

Email | Print | Facebook | Twitter | Digg | Del.icio.us