Port of Miami Director Bill Johnson has been invited as one of the distinguished speakers at the “Panama Canal 2012 International Engineering and Infrastructure Congress” to be held April 18 – 20 in Panama City.
Organized by the Panama Canal Authority, this Congress will convene more than 40 experts from 10 countries, who will discuss large scale projects and future trends in the maritime industry. Johnson will speak about the impacts of the Canal expansion on Port of Miami and global trends.
According to Director Johnson , “The expanded Panama Canal will be a game changer for container trade when it opens in August 2014. As the closest U.S. port to the Panama Canal, PortMiami will be the first port of call for fully laden post-Panamax vessels. To capitalize on bigger ships and shifts in trade, the Port is putting in place over $2 billion in infrastructure improvements .”
Port of Miami is recognized around the globe as the “ Cruise Capital of the World ” and as the “ Cargo Gateway to the Americas “.
In order to increase its capacity to accommodate Post-Panamax ships, Port of Miami is deepening its channel to -50 feet. In addition, a $1 billion tunnel is currently under construction that will directly link the Port to the national highway system and provide for the expedited delivery of goods. The Port is also reintroducing on-port rail that will connect Miami to the US rail network, putting 70% of the US population within one to four days of Port of Miami. These projects are slated for completion by 2014, in tandem with the opening of an expanded Panama Canal.
During the International Engineering Congress, in which the Port of Miami Director will participate, other design and project management experiences will be shared such as the Bay of Panama Clean-up, the hydroelectric project of Tocoma in Venezuela, the failure of New Orleans levees during Hurricane Katrina, the main dredging projects in the world; and foundations for the tallest buildings in the world.
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Dredging Today Staff, January 19, 2012; Image: pancanal