TAMPA, Fla. — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Tampa Tuesday to mark the recent $12.6 million in federal funding awarded to Port Tampa Bay.
Buttigieg's visit to Tampa kicks off the start of his six-state tour as part of the Biden-Harris Administration's Building a Better America Tour, a release stated.
"We've got to invest in every part of our supply chains," Buttigieg said. "When we're able to move goods more smoothly, that is something that reverberates and ripples out throughout our entire economy."
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, along with U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, Port Tampa Bay CEO Paul Anderson, and other elected leaders spoke at Port Tampa Bay to celebrate the $12.6 million in RAISE funding, which is part of President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a release from the mayor's office explained.
The federal funding will be put towards the port building a new berth, where large cargo ships can dock, unload and reload shipping containers. Port Tampa Bay is Florida's largest port, moving roughly 33 million tons of cargo in a year.
"Our business in the container industry has grown by about 38% in the last year," Anderson said. "We expect to receive three additional container gantry cranes, post-Panamax, later this year and December."
Earlier this month, Rep. Castor announced the $12.6 million grant would help fuel what she called "the economic engine that keeps everything running" — Port Tampa Bay.
"As the largest port in Florida, Port Tampa Bay is crucial to the region's economy," Buttigieg said. "It's an essential part of our entire country's supply chain."
The federal infrastructure grant will support the port's operations at the newly expanded Big Bend Channel.
The funding will be used to create another berth at the city's satellite facility Port Redwing, Anderson explained at the time. This new docking area will allow a third ship to be worked on concurrently, making the port more efficient at serving large vessels.
"This new berth will provide Port Tampa Bay with greater capacity for larger ships and give us the infrastructure we will need to improve and increase our supply chain in one of the country's fastest-growing regions which is what Tampa Bay is," the Tampa mayor said.
According to a release from Buttigieg's team, the federal funding will help create 800 full-time jobs at Port Tampa Bay.
"[We're] transforming Tampa's tomorrow, lowering costs, creating good-paying jobs [and] building a more resilient Tampa Bay area," Rep. Castor said. "I couldn't be more thrilled that we can celebrate together today."
The Port Tampa Bay project is one of five RAISE grants awarded to Florida. A $20 million grant will help fund energy efficiency upgrades and service expansion at the Clearwater Transit Center.