Florida's Port Everglades, one of the top US container ports with more than 5,400 ship calls per year, has announced a $2 billion expansion project.
The proposed 20-year development master-plan has been presented to the Broward County commissioners.
According to the plan, development work will cost $2 billion by 2026. Reports say that about $1.2 billion of that will go to facilities upgrading, while the remainder is to be spent on general infrastructure improvements and dredging. The funding will come from port revenue, private investments and grants.
Officials say the first five years of the programme will see renovation and expansion of five terminals as well as construction of a crushed rock import facility capable of handling 4 million metric tonnes (mt) of aggregate a year. Port director Phillip Allen said the facility would help alleviate a predicted aggregate shortage.
Developments over ten years would include the reconfiguration of berths for larger ships and the addition of facilities for cruise passengers.
By the end of the 20-year programme, the aim is for the port to be hosting 7 million cruise passengers and handling 2.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year.
Meanwhile, the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) yesterday announced a new service from Port Everglades to Nassau in the Bahamas.
The new MSC Nassau, Bahamas service is targeting increased business from Florida to the Bahamas with an eye on future transshipments through Port Everglades for cargo originating in other global markets.
Port officials estimate that the new service could generate an additional 20,000 TEUs per year for Port Everglades.
The proposed 20-year development master-plan has been presented to the Broward County commissioners.
According to the plan, development work will cost $2 billion by 2026. Reports say that about $1.2 billion of that will go to facilities upgrading, while the remainder is to be spent on general infrastructure improvements and dredging. The funding will come from port revenue, private investments and grants.
Officials say the first five years of the programme will see renovation and expansion of five terminals as well as construction of a crushed rock import facility capable of handling 4 million metric tonnes (mt) of aggregate a year. Port director Phillip Allen said the facility would help alleviate a predicted aggregate shortage.
Developments over ten years would include the reconfiguration of berths for larger ships and the addition of facilities for cruise passengers.
By the end of the 20-year programme, the aim is for the port to be hosting 7 million cruise passengers and handling 2.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year.
Meanwhile, the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) yesterday announced a new service from Port Everglades to Nassau in the Bahamas.
The new MSC Nassau, Bahamas service is targeting increased business from Florida to the Bahamas with an eye on future transshipments through Port Everglades for cargo originating in other global markets.
Port officials estimate that the new service could generate an additional 20,000 TEUs per year for Port Everglades.