Interview: Jonathan Daniels, Chief

Master plan

A number of capital improvement projects are under way at Port Everglades

What major projects are scheduled for development within the Port Everglades master plan? Our 20-Year Master/Vision Plan, which maps out capital improvements and operational efficiencies over the next five-, 10- and 20-year horizons, includes several sizeable construction projects – totaling $1.6 billion –that are purposely moving forward at a rapid pace.

Currently underway is a $471 million berth expansion, the largest infrastructure project in the Port’s 92-year history. The Southport Turning Notch Extension project will add new cargo berths by lengthening the Port’s existing turn-around area from 900 feet to 2,400 feet. Part of this effort includes installing crane rail infrastructure for new super post-panamax container gantry cranes.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the preconstruction engineering and design phase for the deepening and widening of the Port’s navigation channels. As the first phase of this larger channel project, in February we received $29.1 million in funding under the Corps FY 2020 Work Plan, which will be used to build a new facility at U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Lauderdale to allow the Intracoastal Waterway to be widened by 250 feet

A new 1,818-space garage for cruise passengers in our Northport area is close to completion. The state-of-theart facility will feature an elevated, air-conditioned passenger bridge with moving walkways to deliver guests to their terminals.

How is this project pipeline impacting containerized cargo? The current construction projects underway are having minor impacts on our containerized cargo operations. Once the Southport Turning Notch Extension is completed, which will add up to five new berths and six new super post-panamax gantry cranes, the Port’s container throughput is expected to nearly double by 2038. Since the Port is land-constrained, expansion needs to be thought of in terms of not only extending out, but up. Our container terminal partners are looking to densify existing land by going vertical with the addition of RTGs – rubber-tire gantries – that will allow terminal operators to stack containers higher, thereby increasing capacity on the same footprint.

What is your outlook for Port Everglades? It will take some time before we return to pre-pandemic levels. Resiliency and planning will be key. We are very confident in the port’s long-term prospects and will emerge stronger from this crisis with a keen eye fixed on our Master/Vision Plan. With collaboration and an organic path to growth, we will work with our existing customers to grow our market share in cruise, cargo, and energy.

Jonathan Daniels

Chief Executive Officer – Port Everglades Authority

Kevin Merrigan

Chairman – Northrop & Johnson

If you wanted to find a 21-foot Boston Whaler, you would be challenged to find one due to the overperformance of sales. The lack of inventory extends all the way to the 170-foot yachts. The good boats that are appropriately priced are either o the market or going to come o the market pretty quickly. We rarely see people overpay for yachts, but the market is robust at present and yachts are commanding good value. There are always bargains to be found, just like in any other business. Sales are definitely up for everybody; new boats and brokerage markets alike.

( ) responsible for 35% of its $170 million in revenue. As a result of the shutdown, cruises moved to fourth place in revenue generation for the port, behind energy, cargo and real estate. The fiscal year 2020-2021 predicts $108 million in revenue with the stop in cruises largely responsible for the shortfall. It is a testament to the overall health of Port Everglades that it was able to sustain this loss without cutting any personnel or downsizing its operations.

Despite whatever slowdown in cruise traffic there has been, the port continues to make progress on its capital improvement projects that fall under the umbrella of a 20-year master/vision plan. In fact, the slowdown allowed much greater progress to be made in this area than would have happened otherwise. Among the improvements at Port Everglades over the last year are a $471 million berth expansion that will be the largest infrastructure project in the port’s history; preconstruction done for the widening and deepening of the port’s channels (a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project); the completion of a 1,818-space garage for cruise passengers that will be connected to the cruise terminals by air-conditioned passageways and moving walkways; finally, a new International Logistics Center will be constructed containing a 300,000-squarefoot two-building facility that has both standard and refrigerated warehouse space.

Air travel The pandemic has been particularly devastating on air travel. Tourism was moribund (especially international) and business travel was at a standstill. According to the International Air Transport Association, air carriers are expected to lose about $48 billion in 2021. These numbers are startling when one considers the importance of FLL airport, an international hub, to the Broward County economy: with 17.8 million enplanements in 2018 and 80,000 people passing through each day, the airport brings about $2.4 billion to the local economy and supports 37,000 jobs. The federal government was able to step in and help with stimulus money going to South Florida’s airports to the tune of $342 million. Thankfully, as the vaccination drive continues apace, traffic is picking up at airports much faster than had previously been expected. Furthermore, FLL airport workers are quick to point out that cargo remained relatively unaffected by the pandemic, most likely a byproduct of the rise in e-commerce. Currently, the airport is at work to grow its cargo processing capabilities.

FLL airport did not sit idle, though, as traffic was drastically reduced. For one, the airport went into deepclean mode, to ensure that facilities would be ready for what is certain to be a glut of travelers in the second half of 2021. COVID-19 testing was also introduced onsite, a measure that improved the safety of air travel (especially after the state of Florida removed restrictions on anything COVID-related).

As well, airport administrators seized the opportunity to double down on their efforts to implement the airport’s master plan that will meet the airport’s operational requirements through to 2035. New terminals are under construction — Terminal 2 with Delta Airlines and Terminal 3 with JetBlue — with both slated to be completed by early 2022.

In addition to FLL, there is also Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, owned and managed by the city, which, at 172,000 passengers, is one of three largest general aviation airports in the world. The airport supports four fixed-base operators and a wealth of jobs: according to the Florida Department of Transportation’s 2019 Statewide