Pennsylvania Invests $246 Million Into Port Of Philadelphia

By Howard Monroe

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    PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (KYW) — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf was in Philadelphia Friday morning to announce a big state investment into the Port of Philadelphia. The state is investing $246 million into the port. It’s being called plan 2.0.

“Bet fast, bet big, bet hard,” Holt Logistics Corp. President Leo Holt said.

And the Wolf administration is betting on PhilaPort.

The Port of Philadelphia is considered by the World Bank to be the most productive port in the United States. And now it’s getting infused with another $246 million in state funding.

“Trade as we all know is a critical component of economic growth,” Port of Philadelphia Board Chairman Jerry Sweeney said.

This funding nearly doubles an investment that was made back in 2016.

In 2016, the Wolf administration invested $300 million to modernize the port. They added the massive blue Panamax cranes to hoist cargo, as well as additional warehousing. The new funding will increase warehouse space by another 18%. In all the port will have 3 million square feet of warehouse space. Also, container capacity will increase by 40%. It’s expected that nearly 3,900 jobs will be created.

“This port supports jobs. It’s a source of really good jobs. It encourages trade. It builds connections,” Wolf said.

With supply chain issues making headlines, the ports along the Delaware River bring in the largest amounts of tropical fruit in the world. So increasing capacity means greater access for you.

“These are critical parts of the supply chain as it relates to making sure that we stave off food insecurity,” Holt said.

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