More than decade in the making, the Maine International Cold Storage Facility marks a new chapter for Portland — and Maine — just as the U.S. cold storage market is taking off.
Portland has seen steady growth with Eimskip continuing to serve international markets, bringing imports of fresh salmon from Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
Soli DG, a South Portland-based consultancy led by husband and wife Patrick and Janeen Arnold, was contracted by the MPA in 2008 to work on developing Maine’s ports.
"Our goal is to be in the ground this fall," George Campbell, partner and advisory board chairman at Yarmouth-based Treadwell Franklin, said Tuesday of the planned waterfront facility.
The new funding, along with two other grants, will help fund a haul road between the IMT and neighboring Merrill's Marine Terminal, as well as new capacity for handling intermodal transport.
The head of the Maine Port Authority tells Mainebiz that cargo loads in the first quarter were 10% above last year, with a heavier volume of food and medicine shipments coming in these days.