The long, narrow island port that boasts an outsized role as a key economic engine for Greater Miami is about to get a major upgrade. Odebrecht Construction Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of the giant Brazilian conglomerate, Odebrecht S.A., is set to begin work this month on improvements to the Port of Miami’s wharfs after Miami-Dade County Commissioners last week awarded a $57.1 million contract to the firm.
Officials for the county-owned port say the upgrades to the cargo wharfs, including steel and concrete reinforcement to the piers where ships tie up, are needed before the port is dredged beginning next year.
“What this project does is it deepens and strengthens the wharfs,’’ said Juan Kuryla, deputy director of the port, which will deepen the port to 50 feet from the current 42 feet. The dredging project — slated to begin next summer and finish by early 2014 — is designed to help the port compete for business from the large ships that will begin crossing the Panama Canal in 2014 after that channel is expanded.
The dredge is one of several improvements designed to help the port maintain a competitive edge as it bids for an increased share of cargo business. Other changes include a tunnel under the bay to connect I-395 directly with the port and relieve truck congestion in the downtown area and rail service to link the port directly to the Hialeah railyard.
Aside from its glamorous role as a top cruise port, the Port of Miami is one of the top 11 container ports in the United States. The facility, which sits on a 522-acre island, handled some 7.4 million tons of cargo and 850,000 TEUs, or ton equivalent units of cargo in 2010.
Kuryla said Tuesday the port plans to issue a notice to proceed, the greenlight for Odebrecht to begin work, “within 15 days.’’
“They have their work cut out for them,’’ Kuryla said. “The timing was very sensitive. We needed to get this contract awarded.’’
The award was delayed by a bid protest from a competing firm, Dragados USA, which lost its challenge.
The project should generate “nearly 300 direct and indirect jobs,’’ said Gilberto Neves, president and CEO of Odebrecht Construction.
Coral Gables-based Odebrecht Construction has performed extensive work on other Miami-Dade county projects, including the Adrienne Arsht Performing Arts Center and a host of projects at Miami International Airport. Those include the new North Terminal, the Metrorail link to the airport, currently under construction, and the MIA Mover, a train link between the airport and rental car center that begins operations Friday.
Its Brazilian-based parent company, Odebrecht S.A., has worked on ports in its home country and beyond its borders, including in Peru and at Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.
A subsidiary of Odebrecht separate from the U.S. operation is currently working on upgrades to the Port of Mariel in Cuba. “It’s another division, another company within Odebrecht,’’ Neves said. “The clients know about it. People know about it.’’
Kuryla said the wharf upgrades will be done in phases in a bid to minimize the impact on ongoing port operations. “We’ve met with stevedores and agents and [shipping] lines to see the best course of action to take down different sections of the wharf at a time,’’ he said.
The project, which is slated to be done in 32 months, will not affect cruise lines, he added. Since the dredging will begin at the sea buoy at the entrance to the port, the wharf upgrades don’t have to be finished before the dredging begins, he said.
By Martha Brannigan (miamiherald)
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