U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration announced up to $684.3 million for Port Infrastructure Development Program grants to improve America's port infrastructure.
MARAD hopes the grants available will enable a greater number of projects get funded which will increase the efficiency of the supply chain and ensure it will remain resilient, according to a May 9 news release. U.S. President Joe Biden contributed $234.3 million through the fiscal year 2022 Appropriations Act.
“Under President Biden’s leadership, we are making a once-in-a-generation investment in our ports and intermodal infrastructure to move goods faster, strengthen supply chain resiliency, support economic vitality at both the national and regional levels and address climate change and environmental justice impacts," Acting Maritime Administrator Lucinda Lessley said in the release.
This funding is the biggest amount that the PIDP has ever gotten, and it is part of the infrastructure bill's plan to make ports and waterways more up to date and modern, according to the release. Part of that is making sure goods move freely, and the program will seek out projects that "improve the movement of goods to, through, and around ports at coastal seaports, inland river ports, and Great Lakes ports are eligible to receive funding."
The news release reported the agency will be seeking out projects which "improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of goods into, out of, around or within a port."
