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The state, federal government and private companies will invest a combined $837 million in the Port of Philadelphia in a major expansion project that is expected to generate 6,000 jobs and an additional $45 million in annual tax revenue.
Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Tuesday that the state will invest $371 million in two new berths, or docking facilities, on the South Philadelphia waterfront — the first in more than 50 years — and install new ship-to-shore cranes at Tioga Marine Terminal in Port Richmond.
The 152-acre Mustin Yard, a former U.S. Navy property next to the SouthPort Marine Terminal, will become a facility for shipped cars and cargo containers, Shapiro said during an event at the terminal.
The federal government will contribute $266 million, including two U.S. Department of Transportation federal grants that U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Delaware County, helped secure. Private companies are expected to invest another $200 million, including $100 million from Holt Logistics, which operates Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, according to the company president, Leo Holt.
Shapiro said the projects are expected to boost container capacity by 122% and auto capacity by 18%, or over 100,000 cars.
“That is a massive amount of additional capacity for a port that is already functioning at an extremely high level,” he said. “That increased capacity will mean more Pennsylvania businesses have access to more raw materials and spare parts that they need, whether they’re in manufacturing, they’re in our growing life sciences sector or in our massive energy sector.”
