Crowley Puerto Rico Services, Inc., has signed a $48.5 million contract for the construction of a pier at its Isla Grande Terminal in in the Port of San Juan. Concurrently, it also signed a 30-year lease extension for the Isla Grande property with the Puerto Rico Ports Authority.
Signing Crowley’s Isla Grade Terminal lease extension: Ingrid Colberg,
Executive Director, Puerto Rico Ports Authority (front left) with Jose
Francisco Nazario (right), director, finance, Crowley, and Edwin Rodriguez
(standing), Chief of Maritime Bureau, Puerto Rico Ports Authority.
Photo/Crowley Maritime
The work includes a 900-foot-long by 114-foot-wide concrete pier and all associated dredging needed to accommodate Crowley’s new liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered Commitment Class ships. Crowley’s terminal expansion plans also include the installation of three new ship-to-shore container gantry cranes, which will be supplied under a separate contract.
Designed expressly for U.S./Puerto Rico service, the 2,400-TEU capacity, combination ro/ro container ships El Coquí and Taíno, are under construction at a Pascagoula (MS) shipyard and scheduled for delivery in the second and fourth quarters, respectively, of 2017.
"This is a great day for Crowley and the people of Puerto Rico, and a critical next step in our nearly $500 million re-investment in the Puerto Rico trade lane," said Jose "Pache" Ayala, Crowley vice president, Puerto Rico. "This important project represents close collaboration between private business and PRPA to make a major investment in the infrastructure of Puerto Rico. We are very excited to choose a Puerto Rico-based construction company who will utilize workers on the island and keep the money in the local economy."
Now that construction and lease contracts have been signed, Crowley is completing the acquisition of the necessary permits, including those from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other local agencies, which will allow the company to break ground in the coming months. Construction is expected to be complete in April 2017, in advance of the inaugural call of El Coqui.
"This level of investment in the Puerto Rico trade is unprecedented," said John Hourihan, Crowley senior vice president and general manager, Puerto Rico. "We are excited about the cooperation and support we have received for this project from the PRPA. We believe in the market and the Puerto Rico people, and our commitment has never been stronger."
Isla Grande Terminal in San Juan.
Crowley has occupied the now 75-acre facility since it entered the
Puerto Rico market in 1954. The company
has more than 250 Puerto Rico employees.
Photo/Crowley Maritime