The State of Alaska has cancelled plans for construction of a new ferry terminal in Prince Rupert B.C., as the Canadian steel industry applauds the federal government for taking a strong leadership position in the international trade dispute.
"The project was cancelled, because there was not a good atmosphere with the Canadian FEMA (Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act) Order being invoked," said Patricia Eckert, associate director for international trade within the State of Alaska’s Governor’s office. "We hope to re-engage at a later point, perhaps in the late fall.
On Jan. 21, the Canadian government released the FEMA Order regarding Buy America legislation and the imposition of U.S. steel content requirements on the Prince Rupert Ferry Terminal Replacement project.
The Act is a rarely used anti-sanction law, which ensures foreign laws that adversely affect national interests are not applied on Canadian soil.
In response, the State of Alaska announced on the same day that it had cancelled the $15-million project, which was funded by the U.S. government through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the State of Alaska, Department of Transportation & Public Facilities.
"This is a recognition that Canadians stand firm and we will stand up to defend our sovereignty, jobs and promote the manufacturing sector," said Tareq Ali, director of marketing & communications at the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC). "We applaud the Canadian government for showing leadership and passing the order. It sends a clear message to our trading partners that we won’t accept this.
The Minister of International Trade Ed Fast said in a statement on Jan. 19 that a waiver would have resolved this issue in a manner that would have allowed the project to move forward without delay.
The State of Alaska was in the process of reviewing bids for the project, which were scheduled to be opened by the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities on Jan.23.
"The Governor believes that the Buy America requirement benefits Alaskans and Americans and he chose not to apply for a waiver," said Eckert. "Our Department of Transportation tells us that the Alaska Marine Highway system is fully able to maintain the Prince Rupert operation at normal standards over the next couple of years, until this is sorted out."
The port of Prince Rupert is located about 750 kilometres north of Vancouver near the southern tip of the Alaska Panhandle.
The port facility is on Canadian Crown land, but the property is leased back to the Prince Rupert port authority. Last year, the ferry terminal and land was sublet to the Alaska Marine Highway System under a 50-year lease that expires in 2063.
"The ideal situation would have been for the State of Alaska to apply for a waiver from the U.S. Federal Department of Transportation, and that would have allowed Canadians to participate in this project," said Ali. "The Canadian steel industry and the province of British Columbia are well positioned to supply this project. It’s a missed opportunity."
The engineer’s estimate for the construction of the ferry terminal is between $10 million and $15 million. The tender includes the supply of labour, materials, and equipment, as well as the performance of all construction work.
"We had always anticipated that Canadian firms would be highly competitive, and Canadian firms were not excluded from the bidding," said Eckert. "The only requirement for Buy America related to the steel and iron."
All iron and steel products associated with the construction of this project are subject to Buy America provisions.
The Buy America Act contains provisions that are applied to the procurement of transit-related projects with a valued more than US$100,000. Buy America provisions are a condition of U.S. federal government grants to state, municipal or other organizations including transit authorities
The Prince Rupert Ferry Terminal Replacement project involves the demolition and removal of all existing marine terminal structures, including timber mooring dolphins, timber transfer bridge, cable bridge lift system, and associated steel catwalks and other features.
In addition, the project includes the construction of a new, modern ferry terminal facility encompassing steel-pile mooring dolphins, steel transfer bridge, concrete bridge abutment, steel bridge support float system, steel catwalks and other items including electrical system and potable water utilities.
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed