By Paul Scott Abbott, AJOT Ports of the Central Gulf region are advancing a wide spectrum of infrastructure projects to facilitate efficient handling of growing volumes of breakbulk and bulk commodities, as well as, in some cases, more containerized cargo. Investments, including those by public and private sectors, are being made in terminals for handling such goods as steel, coal and grain. Beginning in Alabama and working eastwardly across Mississippi and Louisiana, here’s the latest at ports of the Central Gulf region: Alabama State Port AuthorityDespite a slow U.S. economic recovery in 2010, the Port of Mobile saw business rebound due, in part, to a recuperating manufacturing sector. Import steel volumes steadily increased over the first operational year at the Alabama State Port Authority’s $110 million Pinto Steel Terminal, while product line expansions at a number of regional woodpulp producers helped boost export volumes. Export coal volumes also climbed to meet global steel production and power generation market demands. The Alabama authority is investing $10 million in export coal-handling enhancements and new equipment to add 6 million tons of export throughput capacity at McDuffie Coal Terminal. Indicative of the link between steel and coal activity, the M/V Britannia G recently discharged nearly 100,000 tons of carbon steel slabs from Brazil – the Port of Mobile’s largest steel shipment – at the Pinto terminal before shifting to the McDuffie facility to load more than 110,000 tons of Alabama-produced coal for export to Spain. Also, a new roll-on/roll-off service has been established between Mobile and Veracruz, Mexico. NAFTA Gulf Bridge is providing shippers faster transit time and increased cargo security compared with land border crossings. Other Mobile port initiatives included new rail infrastructure and interchange yard improvements to expand car-handling capacity for the five Class 1 railroads servicing the port. Port of Pascagoula While a number of other Central Gulf ports have been looking to handling of containerized cargos for future growth, the Jackson County (Miss.) Port Authority’s Port of Pascagoula remains focused on its traditional strengths in noncontainerized sectors. In mid-June, the liquefied natural gas tanker Gaslog Singapore became the first vessel to discharge LNG at the new Gulf LNG Energy LLC terminal in the Port of Pascagoula’s Bayou Casotte Harbor. A second similar vessel is slated to discharge LNG at the terminal later this summer, completing the commissioning process before commercial activity begins at the regasification facility. Meanwhile, authority officials are continuing efforts to advance projects in the Pascagoula River Harbor that will maintain the port’s 42-foot-deep channel and widen its entrance to 550 feet from its present 450 feet. Longtime leading commodities at the Port of Pascagoula include exports of frozen poultry, as well as forest and paper products, such as lumber, plywood, poles and linerboard. Mississippi State Port Authority Hurricane Katrina devastated the Mississippi State Port Authority’s Port of Gulfport nearly six years ago, and the efforts to rebuild the port are still continuing, with the Mississippi Development Authority having recently received the final $481 million in community development block grant money allocated for the authority as part of the state’s Katrina recovery. The block grant money is being used in funding the Port of Gulfport’s Katrina recovery plan, which is focused on restoration, protection and growth. The funds will be used to restore maritime facilities, elevate the port’s West Pier to 25 feet and modernize container operations, facilitating an increase in the port’s cargo-handling capabilities and capacities. The authority was slated to close receipt of bids this week on the first construction project to be paid for through this latest funding. The project entails dredging in the West Pier area and is t