The Port of Gulfport has been awarded US$ 11.25 million through the US Department of Transportation Maritime Administration’s 2025 Port Infrastructure Development Program, forming part of a US$ 24.5 million project to strengthen the port’s national defence role, expand intermodal and container capacity and improve infrastructure resilience across the Gulf Coast supply chain.
The total project cost is funded through a public-private partnership comprising the federal PIDP grant, a US$ 9.5 million contribution from stevedore partner Ports America, a US$ 2.6 million grant from the Mississippi Department of Transportation’s Strategic Multi-Modal Investment Fund and just over US$ 1.2 million in port funds.
Port CEO Jon Nass described the financing structure as a model of public-private collaboration, converting a modest port contribution into a transformative infrastructure investment.
The grant funds will support a range of targeted improvements across the port’s terminal facilities. Rail infrastructure on Terminal 5 will be upgraded and a new intra-port rail connection established between the East Pier and West Pier.
Eight acres of Terminal 4 will be paved with concrete and utilities and high mast lighting reconfigured.
Terminal 4 will also be equipped with 24 refrigerated container towers to support growth in perishable import and export volumes.
A ship-to-shore crane transformer will be acquired to improve operational reliability during severe weather events, and a reach stacker will support reefer tower operations at Terminal 4 and intermodal activities at Terminal 5.
