News & Updates
Port Panama City to Make Container Yard Improvements
Thanks to a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation, Port Panama City is embarking on container yard improvements that will improve safety, reduce chokepoints and add capacity for containers and cargo.
According to Port Panama City Port Director Alex King, the port will soon connect its North Terminal container yard to the docks.
“This is going to not only add capacity for containers and general cargo, it’s going to alleviate a serious bottleneck and safety hazard. Because right now, where we have every rail movement, every truck movement, every on-terminal steward or movement, it passes through this one area. We’re going to spread all of that out and add a lot of capacity,” King explained.
The 50-50 matching FDOT grant is assisting with this $3 million improvement project, which has helped the port purchase two new container reach stackers with the highest tier rating of diesel engines for clean emissions. Additional improvements include rail realignments and lengthen some tracks to make rail service more efficient, and creating additional capacity where an old bulk storage tank formerly existed.
According to King, these improvements were overdue.
“This has been a long time coming. So, as this port has evolved over the years, there’s been long-term lease parcels that have had tenants on there that have handled either cargoes or some light manufacturing. And so, this is the result of a commodity that kind of really was not moving through the port in great volumes anymore. That lease expired, and we were able to take that land back,” he explained.
The new connection is expected to open early next year.