Quonset Port
Until government stops equivocating there will be no possibility of a port at Quonset Point. Now, after months of a stakeholders process that has seen some shipping companies commit to other ports, the proposed developers of a Quonset Port come forward with a proposal that addresses many of the concerns of the stakeholders.
But Gov. Lincoln Almond said it neither provides for funding nor has commitments from shipping lines, and, frankly, he’d like the port positioned a bit differently.
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We have yet to hear definitively from the governor or other officials that the state would support a port, period, and that what we need to do is work out the details. We often are told they would support a port, if it met certain environmental, funding, shipping, quality of life and other needs. What we need now is to say whether these needs have been met, and a port is a good or bad thing for Rhode Island, with final details to be worked out in short order.
We first experienced the stakeholders process, where contrary to all conventional wisdom the parties were set at one another to debate the concept, without ever having a proposal in front of them to discuss, modify or reject.
Such an exercise was destined to create more confusion, become a platform for pre-conceived positions, and result in months of delay without ever beginning the debate over something more specific that could eventually lead to a consensus, and either the development of a port or its outright rejection.
It seems now that issues about funding and shipping commitments, while important, would be elusive to developers who could only market a process that has created delay, division and equivocation. Only when there is a definitive position that says yes or no about the Port can we move forward.
A yes will give the developers the tools to raise the private funds necessary to build the port. A yes will give the developers the tools to entice shipping lines to consider a Quonset Port. But no private investor or private company could seriously consider even the vaguest of commitments, when there is so little direction from state officials.
There are sufficient safeguards if the developers either don’t get the funding or shipping commitments, two areas that seem intertwined. Clearly, they will be unable to build anything without money. And there is still a lengthy permitting process to travel before final approval.
Let’s either move forward with the port, or set it aside so we can concentrate our efforts on other economic development prospects.
Life for manufacturing
Manufacturing in Rhode Island is alive and an integral part of our economic future. A story in today’s edition talks about conflicting figures on the number of manufacturing jobs in the state, and whether they are declining or increasing.
We suspect the reality is that manufacturing jobs are on the decline, that companies that fail to embrace technology and modify products to meet customer needs will whither away. A leaner, stronger and more productive manufacturing sector will emerge, where those companies that accept technological change, maintain vision about their products and workplace, will survive, and likely thrive.
Manufacturing will remain a significant part of our workforce.
A few years ago, faced with consistently declining manufacturing employment, economists were projecting that manufacturing’s future in Rhode Island was dim at best. Now, they talk about a new manufacturing order, where companies will emerge with greater strength and the ability to compete in this technological environment and on a global scale.
It is encouraging to see this renewed confidence in the future of a long and proud segment of Rhode Island’s business community.
