Real estate and logistics developer CenterPoint Properties has proposed a 60-year concession for the Port of Virginia to the Virginia Department of Transportation. The unsolicited proposal will set in motion a process by which VDOT will solicit competing proposals before selecting a bidder. The process is governed by Virginia's 1995 Public-Private Transportation Act (see guidelines here), and could spark a number of proposals from existing port operators, shipping operators and infrastructure funds.
CenterPoint says that it will invest $8.9 billion ($3.5 billion in today's dollars) over the life of the concession, and would provide both upfront and continuing concession payments to, as well as share excess revenue with, the Commonwealth of Virginia. It also says that the Commonwealth Transportation Fund would no longer have to pay the port a subsidy. Virginia International Terminals, the current operator of the port, would continue to run it under a contract with the potential concessionaire.
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