P.R. mega-harbor would never clear bureaucracy
Published on Sunday, July 18th 1999 on The San Juan Star"T'would be nice if…" is a commonplace expression in our culture. T'would be nice if there were no unemployment. T'would be nice if we had an economic competitive advantage, a technological spearhead, an enviable commercial asset, a major source of employment compatible with our island nature…better yet, enhanced by our island nature. T'would be nice if we had something of hemispheric proportions that would guarantee our commercial competitiveness at least on this half of the world. T'would be nice if such a development had private and external funding at the very start. We wouldn't have to dig into one of our pockets to stuff the other pocket.
You know what? A megaharbor for the transshipment of maritime freight could be all of the above, and more. Computerized shipment, bar coded, navigational satellite referenced, with cargo items referenced in real time at any time, and the information readily accessible in the world wide web.
This thing about megaharbors is steeped in the history of the megamoguls of international maritime trade, plus a heavy dose of very modern high tech. Hey, it's not monopolistic. It's Darwinian. The big shall get bigger. The small shall get wiped out. Because of historical realities that I will not go into, two maritime trade mogul nations come to mind: the Dutch and the British. For some reason, these two nations possess the cutting edge of worldwide maritime trade.
The Dutch have hosted our top echelon government officials in their recent visit to a state-of-the-art megaharbor in the Netherlands. Our government officials were impressed, as anyone would be. Like, wow! Could Puerto Rico ever have one of these? Yes, Puerto Rico could. The expertise is available. The desire –nay, the need!– of having one in this side of the world, is available. The financing is available. So, why not go for it?
Ah! The bureaucratic resistance of the permit process, the cultural resistance to something bigger than life that we did not invent, and the opportunity of setting up a media circus opposing –resisting– a very visible project of very visible infrastructure, all pose a real mine field for anything positive.
Puerto Rico already has a hemispheric giant, this one of rather dubious honor. We have the most tortuous permit process in the Americas. In Puerto Rico anybody can stop anything. Litigating to derail major projects is a national sport here. If you are not convinced, look into our due process. We have an unbelievable administrative steeplechase of one hundred and eight permits to go through. It is no secret that some have become experts in the due process and have elevated its vigilance to heights above and beyond the need, the desire, or the wisdom of allowing the development sought. It's not about whether you saved the life of a patient. It is about whether you used the hallowed due process while doing so. If you didn't, it would be best if you had let the patient die.
Opponents to projects come out of the woodwork for environmental reasons, political reasons, sport and whim, and more recently as competitive displays of spite and greed. If my project was not approved, I will bankroll the opposition to your approved project. It's like the dog of the hortelano that does not eat vegetables, but will not allow vegetarians to go near the garden.
This is a very competitive field. A hemispheric transshipment megaharbor is a coveted jewel. In this competitiveness, "windows of opportunity" call the shots. In case you forgot, a "window of opportunity" is the time slot available for you to either do it, or call it quits. Can we do it within our "window of opportunity", or will we see the transshipment megaharbor develop in one of our neighbors' islands?
Of course, a commercial megaharbor cannot be placed in San Juan. If it were, it would displace the cruise ships and hinder tourism in a harbor so generously favored in historic charm, and traditionally a cruise ship magnet. No, it would have to develop somewhere else in Puerto Rico. It would have to develop along a coastline that had ample tracts of unoccupied real estate. It may even mandate the creation of an artificial harbor, the placement of breakwaters, and some generous dredging. Yes, more permits. Good luck!
Puerto Rico is an island that has consistently refused to admit its maritime boundaries. We have always looked inland, not to the sea. Our revered native is the jíbaro, the mountainfolk. Not the fisherman, nor the mariner. We have always feared the sea. Storms come from the sea, invaders come by sea, and if you go to the sea you will be eaten up by a shark.
Maybe it's time to discover that a sea inexorably surrounds us. Maybe it's time to wake up and smell the coffee. Maybe it's time to become maritime oriented. Maybe it's time to look into expediting our permit process so that we may take advantage of our window of opportunity.
Otherwise, we may come to a bureaucratic Stop sign, and eventually starve to death.