The Birmingham–Jefferson County Port Authority, along with port operations firm Watco, have launched plans to turn the inland Port Birmingham into a global import–export hub.

Local officials recently approved $675,000 for the Port Authority to begin redevelopment efforts, and officials are applying for federal grants to upgrade the facilities and to build warehouses and container storage.

Much of the rush to expand capabilities and capacity is because of the emergence of the larger, post-Panamax ships that went into use after completion of a new lane of the Panama Canal.

The project, called the Southport Turning Notch Expansion, will see the construction of bigger cargo-ship berths, the installation of rails capable of handling larger cranes and a near-tripling in the amount of deepwater turnaround space. A joint venture between Moss & Associates and Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., the project will also expand the area for mangroves and wetlands.

The news is collated by ChinaRubberFender.com – Marine Fender Supplier.