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Port Of Tampa Plans Focus On Development Ideas

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By TED JACKOVICS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 20, 2008

TAMPA - The Port of Tampa's proposed master and strategic plans, two years in the making and 551 pages in all, were released to the public Monday night on the port's Web site, tampaport.com.

The master plan of recommendations for economic and land-use development is not scheduled to be adopted for about a year after various government hearings. The strategic plan outlines the overall direction of the port for a five- to 20-year period.

"The expanding growth of downtown Tampa to the east will place increasing pressures on the port in general and the shipbuilding and repair industry and petroleum industries in a particular," the master plan states.

The plans, which followed a summary officials revealed in November, include several key strategies:

Land development and use: Increase property through land acquisition or creating new waterfront industrial property through land filling.

Navigation: Evaluate the feasibility of deepening the port's channels initially to 45 feet and potentially to 50 feet, driven by the completion of the Panama Canal expansion in 2014.

Capital formation: Create a strategy to be able to invest $1.5 billion to $2 billion in modernizing and expanding marine terminals and supporting infrastructure.

Energy and freight: Create task forces to plan infrastructure to serve regional energy needs, in particular petroleum, and to implement a long-term highway and railroad transportation strategy.

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817 or tjackovics@tampatrib.com.

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