Improvements in Panama could ripple to Gulfport

The opportunity to increase South Mississippi’s share of cargo to and from Central and South America was bolstered by Hurricane Katrina and should get another surge from the expansion of the Panama Canal, the Biloxi Sun Herald reported.

Mike Alise, president of Gulf Coast International Cargo, said a new air-cargo facility at the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport and a US$1 billion expansion planned at the Port of Gulfport put the Coast in prime position to compete when the expansion of the Panama Canal is done in 2014.

“The opportunities on this Coast are endless,” he said.

The new air-cargo facility is four times larger than the original with 20,000 square feet of chiller space, 20,000 square feet of dry cargo space and 6,000 square feet of office space. Alise said without state and federal funds after Katrina, it’s unlikely a facility that size could be built.

Alise leases the space from the airport authority and transports cargo between Gulfport and South America.

(Source: Cargo News Asia)