Port Canaveral is proceeding with a 35-year lease of its prospective US$100 million container terminal to Middle-Eastern company Gulftainer.
The move negates previous concerns from voices who questioned the security of such a move.
The proceeding comes after the US Treasury Department determined that the lease does not require a further security review.
Port Canaveral had already volunteered for the security review, with port spokeswoman Rosalind Harvey stating that the Committee of Foreign Investment for the United States process had ended with the Treasury Department’s determination that the agreement didn’t represent an ownership transfer.
Precautions were taken by Port Canaveral to avoid an uproar similar to DP World’s 2006 agreement to obtain the operating leases for six US ports.