Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Matthew Shoemaker is pressing Algoma Steel to dial back its once-grand vision for a public Port of Algoma.
Last year, the city and the steel mill relaunched their commitment to the project, to be built on Algoma Steel property.
Two weeks ago, Shoemaker met with top Algoma brass to discuss a federally supported feasibility study.
"We're looking to make sure the project that comes out of the other side of this study is something that's achievable and realistic," the mayor tells SooToday.
"Previous iterations of the Port of Algoma had dozens of slips with this grandiose vision of new industries setting up here.
"What we want to do is support existing industries that use the port, expand it to a capacity that can service the existing demand with room for a little bit of growth.
"And if there is further growth beyond that, build it in such a way that we are able to further expand the capacity in the future.
"So we want to make sure that we've got their cooperation in terms of what size of land will be needed now, what size of land may be needed into the future.
"And obviously, negotiations will have to take place at some point as it relates to how much land exactly that is. But, you know, as at a preliminary step, as we're starting this study, we need to be sure that if we come out the other side of this study with a land need of whatever it is.
"Ten, 15, 20, 50 acres, whatever it might be that we have a commitment to work with them on that issue. And that was the message that we brought to them," the mayor said.
The Jan. 8 meeting at Algoma Steel's boardroom at 105 West St. was held at Mayor Shoemaker's initiative.
Also attending were:
- Tom Vair, the city's chief administrative officer
- Algoma Steel Group chief executive officer Michael Garcia
- Algoma Steel chair Andy Harshaw
- Laura Devoni, Algoma's director of human resources and corporate affairs
- John Naccarato, vice-president strategy and chief legal officer
- Chris McMaster, general manager, shipping, transportation and material reprocessing
"What I'd like to see, is something that can get built, so we're not going to be in a position to build the dozen or more slips that Essar had envisioned when it proposed the Port of Algoma," Shoemaker told SooToday.
"What I think is the more realistic approach is have an additional one or two slips in the immediate term with the ability to expand in the future."
