USDOT announces $500 mln for ports available through the Port Infrastructure Development Program
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $500 million in Federal Fiscal Year 2024 funding through MARAD’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), according to MARAD's release.
Investments made under the PIDP focus on modernizing the Nation’s coastal and inland waterway ports as well as strengthening its supply chains and economic security for generations to come. PIDP funds will also aid in the reduction of carriers’ shipping time, costs and ultimately the price of goods for the American people. The Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $450 million annually, from FY 2022-FY 2026, in funding for the Program.
MARAD’s PIDP grants help eligible applicants complete critical port and port-related infrastructure projects in urban, rural and tribal communities. Applicants include port authorities, state and local governments, indigenous tribal nations, counties, and other eligible public entities. Grants are awarded on a competitive basis to support projects that improve the safety, efficiency, or reliability of the movement of goods through ports and intermodal connections to ports.
Projects funded in FY 2023 include a dock replacement in Alaska, on-dock rail improvements in California, pier infrastructure renovations in New Jersey, safety and capacity improvements at a tribal harbor in Oregon, a new barge terminal in Minnesota, safety improvements and electric vehicle charging infrastructure in North Carolina, a container yard expansion in Washington State, a wharf expansion at a port on the St. Lawrence Seaway in New York, a new facility for mooring barges in Arkansas, and 32 other projects around the US.
This program also complements the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Ports Program, which just made $3 billion available. This program will fund zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure to reduce mobile source emissions at U.S. ports, which may include cargo handling equipment, harbor craft and vessels, electric charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure, and a number of other technology investments.
