US$653M in Federal Funds to Support 41 Facilities Across 26 States
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration, or MARAD, has announced more than US$653 million in funds to support dozens of port upgrade projects across the nation.
The funds, drawn from the Port Infrastructure Development Program and allocated to 41 improvement projects across 26 U.S. states, will help boost capacity and increase efficiency at coastal seaports, Great Lake ports, and inland river ports, MARAD said.
The upgrades will also strengthen supply chain reliability, create workforce development opportunities, speed up the movement of goods, and improve port safety, reliability and resilience, the administration said.
The investments are part of the largest dedicated funding for ports and waterways in history – nearly US$17 billion through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“Modernizing the nation’s port infrastructure is vital to the reinforcement of America’s multimodal system for transporting goods. The advantages of cargo movement on water extend well beyond the maritime domain,” said Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips.
“By funding port infrastructure development, the Biden-Harris Administration is ensuring that goods move reliably and in greater quantities, strengthening supply chain resiliency across all modes of transportation, and addressing the negative impacts of port operations on public health and the environment that have harmed communities living near ports.”
Among the beneficiaries are the Port of Baltimore, awarded US$47.4 million to fund berth and upland improvements to accommodate heavy project cargoes, and Norfolk, Virginia, granted US$39.3 million to convert an existing marine terminal and berth to an offshore wind logistics facility.
The South Jersey Port Corporation, meanwhile, was awarded US$20.5 million to upgrade facilities at its breakbulk-handling Paulsboro Marine Terminal. The Delaware River terminal has already begun the second stage of a US$250 million project to build a monopile construction plant that will serve offshore wind projects along the U.S. eastern seaboard.
“We greatly appreciate President Biden’s continued jobs-creating investment in the Ports of South Jersey, and the support of our federal lawmakers and Governor Phil Murphy,” Brendan Dugan, assistant executive director and CCO at SJPC, told Breakbulk.
“This grant will be used to enhance our facilities to attract a more diversified cargo mix at Paulsboro Marine Terminal and, most importantly, create and support family-sustaining jobs in South Jersey.”
MARAD is an exhibitor at Breakbulk Americas.
TOP PHOTO: Monopiles arrive at Paulsboro Marine Terminal, April 2023. CREDIT: SJPC
