Lt. Governor Carroll gets a bird’s-eye view of Port Everglades and its expansion projects
Business community voices support for the Port’s growth
Glenn Wiltshire, Deputy Director for Port Everglades and Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll on container crane.
Submitted by Ellen Kennedy
Florida Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll visited Port Everglades recently to see the progress on the South Florida sea-port’s three critical expansion projects that are projected to create 7,000 new jobs regionally and support more than 135,000 jobs statewide over the next 15 years. During the visit, which included a tour and overview from the top of one of the Port’s 151-foot-high post-Panamax container gantry cranes, the Lt. Governor also met with business and community leaders who expressed the urgency for moving the expansion projects forward.
“Hearing about and seeing the opportunities at Port Everglades for increased international trade, especially with Latin America and the Caribbean, reinforces the importance of Governor Rick Scott’s focus on investing in our state’s sea-ports and transportation infrastructure,” Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll told the group of about 30 regional business and community leaders who directed questions to her regarding the state’s plans to increase transportation funding. “Investment in our ports is a critical component for Florida to continue as our nation’s leader in trade with Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Port Everglades’ key expansion projects are expected to be completed over the next five years and will add five cargo berths, new state-of-the-art gantry cranes, widen and deepen the channel to 50 feet and add a new on-port rail yard to the Port’s assets.
“Port Everglades is guided by a comprehensive Master/Vision Plan that prioritizes projects to best allow the Port and its customers to benefit from market opportunities, such as the Panama Canal expansion, through increased port operating revenues and the creation of good jobs,” said Steven Cernak, Chief Executive & Port Director for Port Everglades.
Deputy Port Director Glenn Wiltshire led the tour and mode-rated the roundtable so that Lt. Gov. Carroll could hear from a wide range of business and community interests including builders, cargo shipping lines, educators and chambers of commerce members. Attendees for the tour and roundtable also included State Sen. Eleanor Sobel, State Rep. George R. Moraitis, Jr., and Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca.
