Crowley invests in Puerto Rico

Crowley Puerto Rico Services has announced that it is to execute an additional US$21 million construction contract for improvements and upgrades at its Isla Grande port terminal in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The construction contract was awarded to Del Valle Group S.P. It includes expanding the terminal’s capacity for handling refrigerated containers; paving 15 acres to accommodate container stacking; installing a new electrical substation to provide power for three new ship-to-shore gantry cranes; constructing a new seven-lane terminal exit gate, and installing hardware required for a new terminal operating software system. 

The contract is the third awarded that is associated with Crowley’s investment in its Isla Grande terminal in preparation for the arrival next year of the first of Crowley’s two new LNG-powered, Commitment Class ships now under construction in Pascagoula, Miss.

Jose ‘Pache’ Ayala, Crowley Vice President, Puerto Rico, said: “We are very pleased to have this final contract awarded as part of the transformation of our terminal at Isla Grande […] The improvements being made to the terminal will provide customers with faster gate times and overall shorter turn times for truckers in and out of the terminal. The overall improved efficiency we will be able to achieve will further enhance the excellent service our customers already receive.

“We are equally pleased to choose a Puerto Rico-based construction company that will create private sector jobs on the island and keep the money in the local economy […] This type of direct investment in Puerto Rico is something very few companies are able to deliver.”

The latest contract follows a US$48.5 million construction contract last year for a new pier at the Isla Grande terminal. That investment by Crowley came after an agreement with the Puerto Rico Ports Authority (PRPA) for a 30-year lease extension for the Isla Grande property. That construction contract was awarded to L.P.C. & D. Inc., and includes the development of a new 900 ft long x 114 ft wide concrete pier and all associated dredging for the Commitment Class ships. Crowley’s terminal expansion also includes the construction and installation of three new ship-to-shore container gantry cranes under a separate contract.

Edited from press release by Callum O'Reilly

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/24052016/crowley-invests-in-puerto-rico-2488/