Posted on 06/02/2008 8:44:37 PM PDT by Lorianne
The unsolicited interest shown by the global investment bank, Goldman Sachs, in a Humboldt Bay container port and North Coast railroad revival shakes up the conventional wisdom of many that there would be ice cubes in hell before anyone would cough up millions of dollars for those projects.
Goldman Sachs has its fingers in major deals around the world as adviser to large corporations, governments and wealthy families and individuals. They're a top dealer in federal securities, guide giant mergers, and put together some of the biggest private equity deals.
Its vice-president for public sector banking, Jeffrey Holt, wrote a letter to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District commissioners that his organization is looking at the rail-port combination as a potential investment package to put up for bid. He noted that pension funds have $60 billion worth of investment capital that they are looking to put into long-term public infrastructure.
Improvement of the harbor to handle container ships and relieve pressure on other West Coast ports depends upon a railroad to move goods in and out efficiently. But with estimates of restoring the rail line from Willits through the Eel River Canyon estimated at hundreds of millions, and port development looking at costing as much as $40 million for starters, the idea of state funds or private investment seemed like a pipe dream.
It may still be. But the interest shown by Goldman Sachs sheds new light on the prospects for port-rail, and may open new choices for Humboldt County and the North Coast. As Holt noted, improving the port and rail assets could mean thousands of new jobs for the region, including warehousing, distributions centers and light manufacturing. Of course, we're a long way from that. Goldman Sachs isn't offering its own money, but wants to act as a financial adviser in putting together a package for institutional investors. And there are the ever-present concerns about environmental impacts, which no doubt was a factor in two of the five harbor commissioners opposing negotiations with the investment bank. But as Holt noted, standards that bidders would have to meet would remain in the community's control.
We see no harm in moving the discussions to the next level and getting details about the proposal. For sure, Goldman Sachs isn't stepping forward without rational expectations of success.
Environmental wacks will nullify this.
That remains one of the great potential port projects in the nation. It’s a good sized harbor that’s essentially gone undeveloped because you have to truck everything out of there. Any railway effort is going to require continuing investment because the Eel River valley geology is pretty unstable, but eventually critical mass is going to be reached, either because 101 and 299 get built out, or because the railway is resurrected.
The harbor’s already set up for large cargo vessels because the pulp mills have been major shippers. It’s also accomodated some cruise ships, so essentially the only thing missing is cargo. Port Hueneme, in Ventura County, is doing great business handling import cars, even though everything that comes in has to be trucked out. I’ve actually been a bit surprised that one of those companies hasn’t discovered Humboldt as a cheap means to serve the San Francisco and Portland markets.
We could have 2 more marxist on the board of supervisors after tomorrow tipping the balance to stop industry, what little there is left. I see Mendocino county is feed up with "medical" marijuana grows...
Ping...
I was just looking at the spur line out of Fortuna that runs halfway to Bridgeville at the moment. Would the 36 be an easier east-west route? What would the line you mentioned be roughly the route of the 299 or south of there?
The remaining pulp mill is owned by a Chinese firm so that may be the source of the money G/S is representing. The Marxist killed a proposed LNG terminal here at the first public hearing a couple of years ago,..
I still get Kevin Hoover's weekly, and was surprised to see that even Arcata's 'diversity tolerant' populace was getting pretty fed up too. Of course, just like their homeless problems, their poorly differentiated compassion resulted in them bringing the problem on themselves.
We’ve got an issue down here in Stanislaus County regarding a rail line from Port of Oakland to Crows Landing along the I-5 corridor.
Construction and jobs are the promise that turned the heads of a majority of the county supes for a distributions center at the old Naval Air Station.
Still in the planning stages, but a lot of folks in the Newman, Patterson are saying “NO!”
Impact studies and more wining and dining by the developer are on the future calander.
It would actually start at the defunct town of Crannell and follow a natural incline on the East side of the Mad River S/E to near hiway 36 at South Fork mountain and then East as you said. This was roughly the original wagon road in the 1850s..
If the current decade-long trend in sun spots continues and reverses "Global Warming," then the Arctic could pack up with sea ice to the point that this "public-private partnership" will leave you-know-who holding the bag.
Not just that, the rightwingers will also be opposed.
It will be a public private partnership.
A significant portion of the money that GS raises will be foreign.
The new rail will require taking of private property.
Inland ports to serve the seaport will be required.
The rightwing is opposed to all of these.
With the costs of gas and diesil going up everyday, the economy of railroad shipping looks better everyday.
Even in snobbish wino counties, old railroads are being looked at economical and less disturbing ways to move freight in and out of the counties.
Of course the elite rich trust baby winos don’t want to hear a train for a few minutes each day, this is after they moved in next to a train track.
When they complain to my wife, she has a great comment, “Duh, when you moved next to a railroad track, you never considered the possibility of train coming through a couple of times each work day?”
She modifies her comment to fit the whiners who move next to an airport under the landing patterns.
You have no appreciation of art whatsoever! The "train track" is there only as an aesthetic touch :o)
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