Back in 2018, the State of Delaware chose Emirati terminal operator Gulftainer (GT) to take over the running of the Port of Wilmington, Delaware. GT signed a 50-year lease with State to operate the Port – paying a royalty to the State’s Diamond State Port Corp which formerly operated the Port of Wilmington. According to press reports GT has so far made quarterly payments totaling $7.1 million to Diamond State Port Corp. based on the amount of cargo that moves through the port.
Under the deal, GT outlined the plans for a $600 million in improvements and expansion of the existing terminal and the construction of a new 1.2 million TEU terminal.
At the signing the rough breakdown of the $600 million investment was $410 million for the new container terminal, $85 million for a badly needed new cold storage distribution center and $73 million to upgrade the existing infrastructure.
Since the signing a $100 million investment has been added in new cranes, tractors, forklifts, other equipment and infrastructure as the transformation of the Port is well underway and could be completed by the end of 2020.
But the big-ticket item that has drawn attention up and down the East coast – the new container terminal – is quietly gathering momentum. The new terminal is planned to be built of the site of the former DuPont plant in Edgemoor. GT is now in the process of seeking federal, state and local permits for the Edgemoor port. As part of the plan, the Edgemoor berths would be dredged to 45 feet and would be able to handle two 14,500 TEU boxships simultaneously. The first phase of the Edgemoor project is ballparked for completion by the end of 2023.
