Department Of Economic Development News

Nordic Logistics and Warehousing has doubled capacity at its Savannah location, holding a ribbon cutting Friday for a new 200,000-square-foot cold storage and blast freezing facility. "Exactly three years ago, Nordic opened its doors here in Savannah to give our customers the logistical advantages that come with one of America's most efficient ports, combined with the superior connectivity of Interstates 95 and 16," said Don Schoenl, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nordic.

Trident Seafoods has opened a $40 million production and distribution center in Carrollton, Ga., providing 175 full-time jobs and the capacity to produce 50,000 tons of finished products annually for the U.S. market. "We are excited to add Trident to our family of customers, especially within the valuable refrigerated cargo market," said Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Curtis Foltz. Savannah's Garden City Terminal offers 84 refrigerated container racks and 814 chassis plug-ins, powering 2,830 refrigerated boxes at a time.

The Industrial Development Bureau of the Department of Economic Development (IDB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Abu Dhabi Ports to establish a joint-program that will help attract investment and further develop and enhance the fast-evolving industrial sector of Abu Dhabi. The MoU, signed at the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development by Eng. Ayman Al-Makkawy, Director General of the Industrial Development Bureau, and Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO Abu Dhabi Ports, is built on the foundation of knowledge-exchange.

Puerto Rico Ports Authority issues RFP for Marina District. The Puerto Rico Ports Authority (PRPA), a public corporation and government instrumentality of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, has issued a request for proposal (RFP) for the leasing, design, construction, operation and financing of the rehabilitation, improvement and operation of the Isla Grande Dry Dock ("IGDD") in the City of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the design, construction, financing, and development of a superyacht marina complex. The PRPA is seeking comprehensive proposals from highly qualified developers and operators of luxury marinas and vessel maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal appointed James "Ray" Barker to the Louisiana Workforce Investment Council. Barker, of Raceland, is the Director of Human Resources at Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. The Louisiana Workforce Investment Council serves to develop a strategic plan to coordinate and integrate a workforce development delivery system to ensure efficiency and cooperation between public and private entities by advising the governor on the needs of Louisiana’s employers and its workforce.

Puerto Rico announced today that it is looking for a major international port operator to partner with on the development of the Port of the Americas, located in Ponce, on the southern coast of the island. The Port of the Americas site sits on over 300 acres, located just 5 miles from Mercedita Airport, representing a tremendous opportunity for future port capacity expansion and industrial growth. “We are excited to work with a private-sector partner on the Port of the Americas, to help bring jobs and economic opportunity to the southern coast of Puerto Rico,” said Alberto Bacó-Bagué, Secretary of Puerto Rico’s Department of Economic Development and Commerce. “The development of this port is just another step in our larger economic plan focused on long-term strategic growth.

Today, Governor Bobby Jindal, officials from the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), Department of Economic Development and the Baton Rouge Area Foundation (BRAF) joined leaders from the City of Baton Rouge, The Water Institute of the Gulf, Louisiana State University and other coastal research institutes to unveil plans for the establishment of The Water Campus in Baton Rouge. The Baton Rouge Area Foundation has taken the leadership role in master planning a world-class Water Campus to be built just south of the Mississippi River Bridge in downtown Baton Rouge.

Approval clears way to create nation’s largest deepwater containerized cargo transfer terminal, enhancing U.S. competitiveness as Panama Canal expands. Transshipment facility off Louisiana coast intended to improve America’s strained shipping infrastructure, streamline international trade flow and create long-term jobs in 32 states. Louisiana State Senator A.G. Crowe’s vision of making America more competitive and capitalizing on the Gulf of Mexico’s deep-water resources has taken…

Nordic Cold Storage announced the grand opening of the first phase of its storage and blast facility, located just minutes from the Port of Savannah. The site has over 200,000 square-feet of convertible temperature-controlled storage space and is capable of blasting more than 10 million pounds of product, ranging from fresh poultry to produce, per week. This $30 million facility currently employs 150 workers, but Nordic plans to start a second phase by the end of the year, which will mirror the existing infrastructure. The cold storage warehouse began receiving its first shipments this month.

The government's assistance package, revealed in March 2012, includes the forgivable loan worth up to $260 million (but Irving will have to repay it if it doesn't reach those job targets) and a repayable loan of $44 million for human resources, technological, and industrial development, reports CBC News. The Department of Economic Development said the 4,000 jobs will be created over the 29-year life of the agreement, while the NDP government defends the arrangement on the basis the shipbuilding work will generate $2.8 billion in tax revenue for the province. In 2012, a Conference Board of Canada study found that Nova Scotia could benefit from an average of 8,400 indirect jobs between 2012 and 2030, peaking at 11,500 jobs during the program’s busiest years.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Curtis Foltz gathered Tuesday, October 25, for a panel discussion at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s third annual State of the Port event in Atlanta. The three leaders spoke about the ports’ impact on jobs and commerce, their importance to the Southeast’s economic future and the need to deepen the Port of Savannah. In FY2011 alone, more than 1,500 new port-related jobs and $295 million in investment were created in the Atlanta region, according to new figures released today by the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “Elected officials from both sides of the aisle and business leaders from all corners of the state understand the significance the ports have as an economic engine,” Gov.

Senior executives from the region’s largest ports and shipping organisations, including ADPC (Abu Dhabi Ports Company) and DP World, took to the stage today (Tuesday 29 March) at the World Ports and Trade Summit. Tony Douglas, CEO, ADPC (Abu Dhabi Ports Company), joined Dirk Van Den Bosch, Chief Commercial Officer, DP World and Peter Ford, CEO, Port of Salalah, Oman in discussing the future challenges and opportunities for the Middle East ports and trade sector. The consensus was that customer service…

Recognising the vital role of the UAE’s ports in providing trade links between the Far East, Asia, Europe and the US, international shipping and cargo experts are set to gather in Abu Dhabi on 28-30 March, for the World Ports and Trade Summit 2011. Across the emirates, a number of port developments are moving forward as global trade gathers renewed momentum and investment capital again begins to flow post-recession. The economic and social imperatives of securing export and import routes for food and oil respectively are important drivers of the UAE’s rejuvenated ports investment.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) welcomed Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue (pictured left) to the Panama Canal September 24. Joined by senior leaders from the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) and the Georgia Department for Economic Development, Governor Perdue visited the Canal to learn about the historic expansion of the waterway and the anticipated benefits the project will bring to Georgia. ACP Administrator/CEO Albert Alemán Zubieta met with the Georgia delegation during their visit and provided an update on expansion, which continues to progress on-time and on-budget.

In the two years since oil reservoirs were discovered off Cuba's coast, Canadian, Chinese, Indian and Norwegian companies have lined up to explore the potentially lucrative Caribbean waters. U.S. oil exploration in Cuban waters - along with most U.S. trade - is prohibited under a 45-year-old U.S. embargo designed to undermine Fidel Castro's communist government. This week, American energy executives meet their Cuban counterparts in the first private-sector oil summit between the two countries. Cubans hope to inform the businessmen of their country's oil potential while undermining the embargo, which has often frustrated American corporations.