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ultimately leads to a more sustainable level of employment
at the Port.
Q.
Supporting Gulfport’s existing tenants is
critical to the planning and work of the Restoration
Project. What has the port done to accommodate
current tenants such as DuPont
and Island View Casino?
A.
For both Island View and DuPont, we have signed new
long-term leases that have paved the way for both of those
companies to make significant private investments in the
Port. Next May, Island View Casino will complete a $58
million renovation of the former Grand Hotel.
We will also be expanding terminal operations and capacity
for DuPont. DuPont is in the midst of an
$80 million construction project to upgrade their
bulk handling facilities.
Q.
At World Trade Center Mississippi, we conduct
in-depth research for companies that includes
information about where specific commodities are
being shipped from. I would like to see Gulfport and
more Mississippi ports show up on these reports.
Some of the bigger exporters in the state don’t
utilize the Port of Gulfport. What can we do as World
Trade Center Mississippi and what can our members
do to make Mississippi businesses more aware of
what Gulfport and other Mississippi ports can do to
help them?
A.
There are a few factors involved in that. Having a
maritime or ocean service is something that links ports to
foreign destinations. We are very good at our north and
south trade and we are looking at opportunities to be able
to consolidate enough cargo and create enough critical
mass, whereby we could entice a carrier destined for Asia
or other parts of the world to come into the port. That does
not mean we can’t currently get into those markets, we just
need to be creative and we need to work with our existing
carrier base to utilize some of the trans-shipment hubs in
Panama or in Jamaica or some of the other areas that give
us that room.
Working with other ports in Mississippi would give
a wider range of companies an opportunity to take
advantage of export operations. It’s important to be
able to support other ports in the state and the raw
materials that come from those regions that could end
up in the value-added process and ultimately get into the
commerce stream whether domestic or international. With
wood for example, we could take our natural resources
from the state and add value to those.
To find out more about Mississippi State
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