What’s Happening Now
AIDEA’s next board meeting is August 26, 2026. You can call in, attend in person, or submit a written comment to communications@aidea.org by 4pm the evening before. AIDEA will post the agenda and call in information before the meeting here.
Read about AIDEA’s bad financial dealings in Salmon State’s report here and the proposed Ambler Road Project in their Megaprojects report here
ALASKANS HOLDING AIDEA ACCOUNTABLE
The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA, is a public corporation created by the State of Alaska. It has broad authority to lend money, issue bonds, finance projects, own assets, guarantee loans, enter contracts, and invest in development projects.
That means AIDEA’s decisions are public decisions. When AIDEA advances projects like Arctic Refuge oil and gas leasing, Ambler Road, HEX Cook Inlet, Alyeschem, Port MacKenzie, E4M, or new investment platforms, Alaskans deserve to know what money is being used, who benefits, what risks are being taken, and what happens if a project fails.
AIDEA can move large amounts of public financial capacity with limited public visibility. Its projects can affect public lands, rural communities, subsistence resources, energy policy, state finances, and Alaska’s long-term infrastructure future.
AIDEA has overly focused on extractive megaprojects and ignored their primary mandate. Their extractive focus has utterly failed to create economic growth or jobs. In total, AIDEA has cost Alaskans $10 billion with its poor investment choices (Erickson & Associates, 2022).
- AIDEA received a net total of $301 million of public money from the State of Alaska, while AIDEA’s development projects have lost $233.3 million
- They performed poorly, earning an average of 3.8% on its investments (as contrasted with the Permanent Fund’s 9.4%). Its project “investments” specifically have earned negative 2.6%
- Alaskans would have collected $1.3 billion more in their PFD checks if AIDEA’s money had been invested in the Permanent Fund and disbursed
Some of AIDEA’s “investments:”
- Ambler Road
- Arctic Refuge Oil Leases
- Healy “Clean” Coal (shut down)
- Anchorage Seafood Processing (wasted millions)
- Skagway Ore Terminal (Potentially relocated to Haines)
- Dead End Rail Spur at Pt McKenzie
- The Ferry called Susitna (“$80 million ferry to nowhere”)
- Mustang project ($70M loss)
Some of AIDEA’s Recent News:
Opinion: AIDEA’s money is our money, and a pot of gold under legislators’ noses
Alaskans voice overwhelming support for AIDEA oversight bill
The state of Alaska could spend nearly $200 million on oil exploration, leasing in Arctic refuge
AIDEA wants new contractor to rewrite ‘independent’ economic analysis
Let’s ensure that Alaskans don’t lose more money to AIDEA’s bad ideas!