Port Tampa Bay Gives Nod to USD 60 Mn Expansion Plan

Port Tampa Bay has approved a public-private partnership agreement with four other entities which will finance a USD 60 million widening and extension of the Big Bend Channel.

The strategic partners include the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Tampa Electric Co. and Mosaic Co., a fertilizer company which is one of the port’s largest tenants along with Tampa Electric.

The Big Bend Channel connects to the Tampa Harbor main channel and will be deepened from 34 feet to 43 feet and widened from 200 feet to 250 feet to accommodate larger ships.

The Army Corps estimates the expansion to cost more than USD 60 million, but future bids may wind up higher or lower than that. Bids are not expected until March 2018. Project funding from the partners would be due at that time, according to the port.

The federal government promised USD 9 million and plans to take over maintenance costs of approximately USD 1 million, according to Ram Kancharla, vice president of planning and development at the Port Tampa Bay.

FDOT has pledged to pay 50 percent of the balance after the federal commitment and has given the port USD 5.7 million so far. TECO and Mosaic both use the Big Bend Channel  and will be disproportionately responsible for the remaining funds.

“This is the largest project we have worked on at the port,” Paul Anderson, CEO and president of Port Tampa Bay, said, adding it’s “almost impossible” to get private and public companies to come together to dredge a federal channel.

Separately, Port Tampa Bay on Tuesday also approved the use of a portion of USD 4.2 million in Florida Seaports Transportation and Economic Development Council (FSTED) funds to improve two existing berths. The port will pay more than half of the reconstruction costs with the other portion coming from FSTED funds and state grants. The update to Berth 219 will cost USD 8.6 million and Berth 3 USD 6.3 million.

Port Tampa Bay expects the project to be completed in 2019.

A bipartisan group of Florida members of the House of Representatives penned a letter in March claiming the Big Bend Channel represents a USD 50 million economic development initiative.

The port has also invested USD 30 million into the growing Port Redwing maritime complex the Big Bend Channel will serve.