Port of Gulfport Poised To Become One of the Largest In the Nation

Governor Barbour breaks ground on the Port of Gulfport Expansion Project

The Port of Gulfport’s restoration is finally underway, and the new plan is setting the groundwork to make this port one of the largest in the country. MPB’s Phoebe Judge has more.

At a groundbreaking ceremony held yesterday lawmakers and officials came together to celebrate the first phase of a master plan which will make the Port of Gulfport one of the largest in the nation. That first phase will use 22 million dollars to fill in 20 acres on the west pier. Don Allee executive director the Mississippi State Port Authority says this first phase is just a platform on which to build from,

“We’re going to triple the size of the port because we think the business with the expansion of the Panama Canal and the growing trade globally supports a decision such as that.”

The port’s master plan which will use 570 million dollars of the 5.4 billion dollars in federal hurricane recovery money to elevate the port 25 feet from sea level, and expand to meet projected market growth. It is estimated that the expansion will create 6500 direct and another 10,000 induced jobs, and generate billions in annual revenue. Governor Barbour says redevelopment of the port will be the largest economic development project in the history of Mississippi,

“This port will be one of the major ports in the United States that can compete with any other port in the world and America needs that.”

The port’s restoration plan has not come without controversy. The NAACP and others have filed a federal lawsuit questioning the use of the 570 million dollars on the port's expansion and not on housing recovery help for low to moderate income residents. But Lee Youngblood with the Mississippi Development Authority says to not rebuild the port for the future would be foolish,

“What kind of restoration plan would we have if we just said you know we think we are just going to rebuild the port back to the way it was. We’ve got to rebuild the port back in a way that prepares it for another storm surge and also enables it to grow.”

While construction on the port restoration may have begun nothing will happen overnight. It is estimated that it will take another seven year for permits for the elevation and expansion to go through.