DOT port infrastructure grants

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to apply for $292.7M in discretionary grants’ funding through the new Port Infrastructure Development Program. “This major investment in the Port Infrastructure Development Program will help strengthen, modernize, and improve our country’s maritime systems and gateway ports,” said DOT Secretary Elaine L. Chao. This new program aims to support public coastal ports by improving the safety, efficiency, or reliability of goods movement into, out of, or within a port. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis for projects located either within the boundary of a coastal seaport, or outside the boundary of a coastal seaport, and directly relate to port operations or to an intermodal connection to a port. DOT evaluate projects using criteria which include leveraging federal funds, project costs and benefits, project outcomes, project readiness, and domestic preference. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2019 made available $292.7M for the Port Infrastructure Development Program, including $92.7M for the 15 coastal seaports that handled the greatest number of loaded foreign and domestic 20-foot equivalent units of containerized cargo in 2016, as identified by the Army Corps of Engineers. The minimum award size is $10M with a federal cost share not to exceed 80 percent. The deadline to submit an application is 7 p.m. CDT September 16, 2019. (Source: DOT 06/13/19)