The Tampa Port Authority (TPA) and the Panama Canal Authority have agreed to extend their strategic alliance in a bid to boost trade, information sharing and promote the all-water route from Asia to the US east and Gulf coasts via the Panama Canal.
This builds on a memorandum of understanding to increase cooperation that was signed by both parties in October 2005.
"Tampa is home to one of the fastest-growing container markets in the United States, and the renewal of this partnership with the TPA is a symbol of our commitment to the advancement of the maritime industry and to working jointly for the benefit of our respective communities," Alberto Aleman Zubieta, CEO of the Panama Canal Authority said in a release, reports the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
"While fertiliser exports and steel imports have long been significant commodities moving between Tampa and Asia via the Panama Canal, containers represent the most rapidly growing cargo segment on this trade lane today."
The report noted that the strengthening of ties coincides with a plan by Tampa Port authorities to expand the facility's container capacity five-fold as the Panama Canal is building a new set of locks to double capacity and accommodate larger box ships.
In September, the port received a state grant of US$10.4 million to finance its expansion plans for container handling.
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