The Manatee County Port Authority has approved a $2.1 million bid for dredging work for a new, 1,584-foot berth at Port Manatee as part of a $150 million, 10-year port expansion to accommodate container shipping.
The berth is expected to be operational by early 2010, the port announced last week.
Sarasota-based Spectrum Underground, Inc., was the low bidder for the first phase of the dredging project with an offer $1.1 million less than preliminary engineering estimates.
The poor economy has generated bids for construction work at Florida's seaports and airports in recent months that have been lower than anticipated.
"This opens the door to advance Port Manatee's future in containerized shipping," director David L. McDonald said in a release.
Last month, McDonald signed a strategic alliance with the Panama Canal to share information and participate in marketing efforts.
Port Manatee is the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the canal, edging out the Port of Tampa, which also expects to benefit from the completion of the Panama Canal's expansion scheduled to be completed by 2014.
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