The Port at Gulfport celebrated the completion of the construction on the Port’s $570 million restoration and expansion project.
Events took place over the weekend with a special ceremony and tours of the port. on Saturday, December 1 with a special ceremony and tours planned for the day.
The only state port along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, over 1400 employees now employed through the port.
“You look at 300 acres, 84 of those acres were ocean which we filled in so that we could expand to take the capacity of Dole, Chiquita, McDermott,” said Governor Bryant. “It is probably the only port in America that has a resort destination on it in the Island View. We were very proud to cut the ribbon and let everyone get back to work at the port.”
Bryant said in the future, they will be expanding the port another 200 acres and they will be dredging the channel to 50 feet so that larger ships can be brought to the Port of Gulfport from the Panama Canal.
A news release from the Mississippi State Port Authority at Gulfport said funding for the project came from an investment in federal money made available by Congress through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The innovative decision to invest in the Port of Gulfport following Hurricane Katrina has not only expanded the Port’s footprint but has attracted new tenants and private investments, while also implementing workforce training programs and community outreach efforts that will aid in developing job skills for the Gulf Coast workforce.
