PortMiami Receives $33 Million From State for Expansion
In preparation for a new era of sea travel that will bring larger cargo and cruise ships to South Florida, PortMiami has been awarded $33 million in state grants over the next five years, the port announced Oct. 28.
The opening of the expanded Panama Canal already has brought larger cargo ships to Miami with more growth projected, the port said. It invested $1.3 billion to dredge and widen PortMiami, complete the port tunnel, purchase four Neopanamax cranes and build an on-port rail link. The port increased containerized cargo traffic by 14% in 2014-2015 and another 2% in fiscal 2015-2016.
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On the cruise side, the port broke a world record in fiscal 2015-16: Nearly 5 million cruise passengers sailed through PortMiami. That industry is projected to boom in the coming years.
In November and December, the port will welcome Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Vista and Regent Seven Seas’ Seven Seas Explorer, the largest and newest ships for their respective lines.
The biggest ships in the world are coming, too. Royal Caribbean Cruises has begun work on a $200 million cruise terminal that would bring the company’s massive Oasis-class ships, the largest in the world, from Fort Lauderdale to Miami. The terminal is scheduled for completion in late 2018.
Next year, Geneva-based MSC Cruises will home port its MSC Seaside in Miami for the winter season. By 2020, the port also is scheduled to welcome the first ship in billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson’s new venture, cruise line Virgin Voyages.
The grant will help fund the expansion of Terminal F into a megafacility capable of processing more than 5,000 cruise passengers at once. Funds also will be invested into three additional Neopanamax cranes, upgrades to cargo terminal yards and the development of a future inland intermodal facility.
“Our port is a vital economic engine for not only Miami-Dade County, but all of South Florida, and its continued growth represents thousands of jobs and increased opportunities for our community,” Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said in a release.
PortMiami contributes more than $27 billion annually to Miami-Dade County and generates 207,000 direct and indirect jobs
