2025 AAPA Annual Convention

The Cost of Standing Still: Why Investing in Port Infrastructure Can’t Wait, moderated by Eric Peissel

When: Tuesday: October 7, 2025, from 11 am to 11:40 am, Infrastructure Modernization Track

Ports are engines of economic growth—but only when their infrastructure keeps pace with demand. Deferred investments in dredging, electrification, and cargo handling systems may seem like cost-saving moves in the short term, but they carry steep long-term consequences: limited vessel access, increased maintenance, operational delays, and lost business.

This session will examine the financial and operational risks of underinvesting in critical port infrastructure and explore how strategic upgrades can unlock economic opportunity. The panel will address how infrastructure shortfalls constrain growth— and how proactive planning can protect revenue, improve cargo flow, and support national competitiveness.

Whether it’s deepening a channel or modernizing terminal equipment, the message is clear: ports that delay investment risk falling behind.