Not all the news about state government and the city of Portland is about conflict. When it comes to the port, it looks like a beautiful friendship.
This week, the Maine Port Authority announced that there are seven companies vying to build a cold storage warehouse on state-owned land on the western waterfront, near the cargo port and rail hub. The facility would be a huge boon to Maine food producers, because it would further cement the state’s place in a worldwide distribution system. Farmers and fishermen could deliver their products to the facility and have them sent by ship, rail or truck to almost anywhere, creating new markets for Maine goods.
The seven qualified bidders are among some of the biggest cold storage operators in the world, including Americold Logistics Ltd., which has a billion cubic feet of cold storage in six countries.
The warehouse would be built on 6.3 acres of state-owned land just west of the Casco Bay Bridge.
The project calls for a private company to build the facility and pay the Maine Port Authority rent on a long-term lease.
The state wants bidders to submit their own ideas about the size and type of cold-storage facility. The site could support a warehouse as large as 120,000 square feet and with 12 truck bays. The deadline for bid proposals is Aug. 24. Port Authority officials are moving quickly, hoping to select a winner soon so construction can begin next year.
The teamwork between the government and private businesses is a model of how these relationships should work. Instead of dangling tax credits and other incentives to attract businesses to make questionable investment, the state built infrastructure that will facilitate private investment based on sound business principles.
Not only will the warehouse and transportation companies benefit, but so will a web of small Maine businesses that will get products to market and receive imports.
The expansion of the International Marine Terminal and the arrival of the Icelandic steam ship company Eimskip, which has made Portland its North American headquarters, has been some of the best business news in Portland for years. The addition of a cold storage facility will allow the city and state to build on these developments.
A growing diverse economy is what Portland and Maine both need. It would be nice to see the two working together to build one more often.
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