May.24--Port authority considers option as operating debts
    The state of Virginia is considering a proposal from APM Terminals to take over the operating rights of the Port of Virginia’s  marine terminals.
    The Daily Press, which reported the proposal on Wednesday, said state officials plan to announce they are seeking similar offers “in accordance with the state’s public-private partnership rules.”
    The VPA declined comment pending an announcement that was expected Wednesday afternoon.
    The Virginia Port Authority operates the terminals in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond through its subsidiary, Norfolk International Terminals.
    The APMT proposal comes less than two years after the port authority signed a 20-year lease to operate APM Terminals Virginia in Portsmouth, a roughly $500 million, highly automated container terminal that opened in 2007. The lease is valued at about $1.3 billion.
    The VPA board met in closed session on Tuesday to consider the proposal as one of the ways to reduce the $8.9 million operating deficit of the VPA and VIT.
    The VPA received a $2.2 billion offer from real estate developer CenterPoint Properties in 2009 to purchase the operating rights of the cargo terminals. The VPA subsequently received similar offers from private equity interests Carlisle Group and a partnership between Carrix and Goldman Sachs. The VPA board turned down all three offers in September 2010.

(Source:JOC)