PacArctic lease-signing signals activity

MAT-SU— “The Port is on the cusp of seeing a lot of activity,” said PacArctic President King Hufford, while signing a 20-year lease today at the Matanuska-Susitna Borough for 7.5 acres at Port MacKenzie.

“The 44-page lease agreement was a good bilateral process,” Hufford said. “The Borough is good to work with.” PacArctic is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koniag, Inc, an Alaska Native Regional Corporation.

The lease is one of two new leases adopted last month at the port by the Borough Assembly. Hufford said projects for his company are already coming together. The project logistics company aims to do what’s called project-forwarding work on major infrastructure projects. Potential projects could be the Knik Arm Crossing, new mines, new oil platforms, sealift modules, the hydroelectric dam, among others.

“It’s a great port for projects,” Hufford said. “There’s a lot of area to do lay-down. It’s got good proximity: right on the water and if need be, we can go north.”

Keith Miles observed the lease signing. Miles represents Angayuk Construction Enterprises, Inc., another Koniag subsidiary that will build the infrastructure for PacArctic. “We’ve been watching the port for seven years waiting until the stars aligned. The expanded barge dock, the rail. It started with pavement,” Miles said. Three years ago the Borough paved the 12 miles of road to Port MacKenzie. Then came the start of the rail project, a 32-mile link from the deep waters of Port MacKenzie to the Alaska Railroad near Houston. The final Environmental Impact Study was issued in March. Last year the barge dock expanded from six to 15 acres. Right now the steep slope of the access road to the port is being reduced in a 1.3 mile project. “We positioned ourselves at the port potentially for the mega-projects,” Miles said.

Borough Real Property Analyst Glenda Smith manages leases in the Land and Resource Management Department. As part of a Borough port development team she worked with PacArctic to negotiate a lease agreement. “PacArctic is going to attract a variety of business because logistics can be a very difficult part to handle. If you have an expert in logistics it can help you advance your business,” Smith said.

“Glenda is the glue that held this together,” Miles said of the lease negotiations. Photo: King Hufford III of PacArctic shares a laugh with Borough staff. Real Property Analyst Glenda Smith looks on during the signing. Photo by Patty Sullivan/MSB.

For more information call Glenda Smith at 745-9864 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.