TRANSPORTATION CONSTRUCTION & LOGISTICS OVERVIEW
More recently, public infrastructure developer Plenary Americas US Holdings Inc has been looking to partner with local city officials for its most ambitious transportation project yet: a 8.25-mile, $70 million streetcar line connecting Tampa International Airport, Downtown and Ybor City. It’s called the CrossTampa Transit Connector. Port-side, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, FDOT, Tampa Electric Co. and global fertilizer company Mosaic Co. banded together via a public-private partnership agreement to develop a $60 million widening and extension of the Big Bend Channel. Technology Tampa Bay is a top tech market in the United States and technology is the cornerstone for improving user
Karl Kaliebe Executive Director World Trade Center Tampa Bay
What are some of the intricacies of translating operations online for small businesses? There has been massive progress in videoconferencing technology. I am working with a startup called Flipsetter, which came out of an incubator at the University of Florida. This is a social, digital media tool that does not require cellular data, so the entrepreneur is getting more and more demand for testing the platform and serving the underserved. The people who have been able to cope well are those with more resources and more education. The people caught in the lower socio-economic base are the ones that took the brunt of lockdowns. How will workforce efforts evolve? I think it will be a mixed bag depending on what industry we are talking about. Some are still demanding skilled employees but some are still cutting back. Whenever there is uncertainty in business, that keeps people from pulling the trigger on capital investment. What are some of the changes in tariffs expected under the Biden administration? A lot of the rhetoric was around the traditional items in international trade. I think both the Democrats and Republicans will continue the shake-up in the supply chain that showed we need some resilience in some sectors. This is not isolated to the United States. Japan just announced a significant investment to overhaul its own supply chain and to break down some of its dependence on China. China is taking the brunt of this event. What are your near-term priorities? We have a pretty limited outreach program, so we want to continue building our brand awareness. Miami has a much bigger footprint internationally. The World Trade Center was much more important before the internet but since the world has this increased connectivity, our role is to create value for our customers, both local and international. I deal with a lot of startups and a lot of them are starting to ramp up activity now. www.capitalanalyticsassociates.com
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