Ports Weather Recession as Investments Pour In

"Despite the current recession and drop-off in business, private investors are still looking for opportunities to invest in the nation’s ports, suggesting investors think that ports will improve before many other parts of the economy. And cash-strapped governments should be looking to take advantage of these public-private partnership opportunities."

"'Ports are going to be one of the first lines of the economy to turn, when the environment improves,' Christopher Lee, managing partner of Highstar, the company set to invest $150 million in the Port of Oakland. 'We want to be ahead of the competition.'"

"The Oakland deal isn’t the only one. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) received an unsolicited $3.5 billion proposal from an Illinois firm, CenterPoint Properties, to develop a public-private partnership with the Virginia Port Authority."