News that the Boeing Co. will assemble the 7E7 in Everett will prompt some changes on the waterfront and, perhaps, near the plant itself.

The decision underscores the importance of new cargo handling operations at the Port of Everett and it could also mean that a major supplier will build its own industrial plant near Boeing in south Everett.

Vought Aircraft Industries of Dallas has been rumored to be seeking a Snohomish County site to assemble the portions of the new aircraft that the company will build with Italian aerospace manufacturer Alenia.

Vought is part of the development team, but doesn’t have a signed agreement, spokeswoman Lynne Warne said Wednesday. Given that, it’s premature to discuss the plant proposal, she said.

Still, the 7E7 decision is exciting, Warne said. "We’re looking forward to working with Boeing on this next-generation aircraft."

Port officials have completed a lot of the work that will be required before they can build a new barge pier near Mukilteo aimed at handling containerized Boeing parts from overseas.

Contractors involved in the production of the 7E7 would develop sections of the Dreamliner jet at locations in Japan, Europe and the United States and ship them to Everett by either air or by water.

The maximum dimensions of the cargo containers the new pier would be able to handle would be 35 feet wide by 35 feet high by 140 feet long, roughly the equivalent of a small three-story building.

The $15.5 million pier project, which would include a new rail spur to carry the containers up Japanese Gulch to the assembly plant, was part of the state’s offer to Boeing should it agree to build the 7E7 in the state.

John Mohr, executive director of the port, said the port has held a number of hearings and selected four alternatives, the most popular of which would be a split pier design the would allow for docking of the barges and unloading of the oversized containers by a gantry crane.

The proposals are undergoing review and will be the subject of more public hearings by next fall with completion of an environmental impact statement. "We hope to have all our permits by the first quarter of 2005 and begin construction shortly after that," he said.

A planned completion date is somewhere in early 2006.

The port also is looking at modifications to what’s called its South Terminal to add two large gantry cranes that could handle oversized Boeing parts on container ships sent to Everett directly from overseas.

Mohr said the port is just beginning to study that project.

The barge pier and terminal improvements were key elements of the state’s bid to Boeing, said Mohr, who also lauded work by city and county officials.