Port Canaveral BizNotes
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GOVERNOR PLEDGES TO SPEND $1 BILLION
ON FLORIDA PORTS 


At a campaign stop at Milliken's Reef restaurant in The Cove, one of several such stops around the state, Florida's Governor Rick Scott pledged to invest $1 billion upgrading the state's ports during his two terms in office if he is re-elected. The state already has spent more than $640 million on port projects since 2011.

The Governor will sign off on $11.55 million for two Port Canaveral projects as part of the state budget recently approved by the Legislature. The funding includes $9.75 million for development of a container yard near the port's new North Cargo Berths 5 and 6. The remaining $1.8 million will go toward a $6 million dredging project and gangway purchase connected with the construction of new Cruise Terminal 1.

"If we want to become a destination for the world's tourists and the world's jobs, we have to keep investing in our ports," Scott said in his speech at Milliken's. He cited Florida Ports Council data indicating that business activity at Florida ports generates more than 680,000 jobs and $96 billion in total economic impact annually.
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NEWSPRINT CARGO RETURNS TO THE PORT


Newsprint was one of the first cargoes to move through Port Canaveral in 1955. Now, after a lull during the recent economic recession, newsprint has returned as a regularly scheduled cargo. 

Shipper Resolute Forest Products is a global leader in the forest products industry with 22 pulp and paper mills in the United States, Canada and South Korea. The company has been shipping high-grade newsprint by rail from Canada to a large customer in Florida, but recently tested putting those shipments on a vessel along with Canadian product going to Costa Rica and adding a stop in Port Canaveral. Resolute knew this method would save on transport costs, but wanted to ensure that the cargo would be handled to the satisfaction of its quality conscious customer. 

The stevedores of Ambassador Services met the stringent handling requirements and Resolute now is shipping 4,000-4,500 tons of newsprint through Port Canaveral each month. 

"The people at the Port have been great, offering us great service with attention to detail," commented Resolute Technical Manager Randy Caine, who oversaw the process.
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NEW CRUISE TERMINAL AND BOAT RAMPS
PROGRESS ON SCHEDULE


Cruise Terminal 1 (CT1) is moving forward rapidly and on schedule for November 2014 completion. Construction teams are working seven days per week, usually two shifts per day. As of the beginning of June, tilt wall installation is nearing completion, steel erection has started and the second story is visible. Waterside work also has begun. 

The Canaveral Port Authority is dedicated to maximizing local participation in all its construction projects and local participation in CT1 is more than 80 percent. 

Meanwhile, new boat ramps to replace those that will be displaced by CT1 construction are on schedule for completion in late June. The new ramps will offer more capacity than the ones being replaced, and also will have additional amenities available.
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COMMISSION APPROVES FAVORABLE
FINANCING PACKAGE


After a presentation of financing options for the Cruise Terminal 1 complex at the March Commission meeting, Commissioner John "Hank" Evans urged the Commission to send port financial experts back to lenders for further negotiation. These negotiations resulted in a savings of about $9 million in financing costs on the $105 million financing package.
 
The financing package approved by the Commission in May is the largest Port funding deal ever. Under an agreement with lead lender Regions Bank, the Port will get a 20-year loan with a fixed interest rate of 3.39 percent. Regions will provide $65 million and a second participant, TD Bank, will provide the remaining $40 million.
 
Loan payments will total $7.66 million per year for 20 years. As part of a contract giving Royal Caribbean Cruise Line priority use of the new terminal, the cruise line will pay $6.34 million per year toward the loan costs for 9 years. This payment is in addition to regular revenue paid to the Port that is based on passenger counts. 
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