SeaPort Manatee has been awarded a federal grant of nearly $12 million to advance a 16.56-acre expansion of container yard facilities.
Announced 15 September by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), SeaPort Manatee is one of 26 projects for which a total of $1.5 billion in Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) competitive grant funding was announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Buttigieg characterised the grants as “transformative investments.”
At SeaPort Manatee, the federal investment of $11,953,492 is to be used toward design and construction of 16.56 acres of additional cargo-handling space and a new container yard access road, as well as for installation of electrical systems for two new mobile harbour cranes that arrived at the port in April.
The INFRA money is being augmented by state and local funds, including equal sums of $2,147,650 each from a Florida Department of Transportation grant and from SeaPort Manatee revenue.
SeaPort Manatee can now proceed to solicit bids for the expansion project, with an eye toward commencing construction in 2023 and completing the work in 2025.
This latest phase of expansion is to augment 18 acres of container yard already completed adjacent to SeaPort Manatee’s berths 12 and 14, plus 6.62 more acres under construction slated for mid-2023 completion.
“SeaPort Manatee is extremely grateful to the USDOT and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for their support of this crucial project, which should furnish sufficient cargo-handling capacity to accommodate burgeoning activity at the seaport through approximately 2041,” said Carlos Buqueras, SeaPort Manatee’s Executive Director.
SeaPort Manatee is the closest US deep-water seaport to the expanded Panama Canal.
SeaPort Manatee offers 10 deep-draft berths, fulfilling demands of container, liquid and dry bulk, breakbulk, heavylift, project and general cargo customers.
