Delaware and Enstructure, the private operator of the Port of Wilmington, recently partnered to build a new $635 million port terminal in Edgemoor.
The state will pay for $195 million of the project’s cost. Enstructure will pay $335 million. Federal sources and Diamond State Port Corp., the taxpayer-owned company that purchased the industrial site, will cover the remaining costs.
Construction will be conducted in three phases and take approximately three years. The first phase is expected to take an estimated 32-month to complete and will focus on waterside building a seawall and a high deck, and associated dredging.
Enstructure will build phases two and three when business justifies the additional capacity.
Once completed and fully operational, the terminal will quadruple the port’s capacity for container cargo and enable new and larger ships to be serviced. The port will generate $76.2 million in state tax revenue and support approximately 11,480 jobs, making it one of the state’s largest employers.
The new terminal is estimated to create nearly 6,000 new jobs, including more than 3,100 direct jobs, and an estimated $39.4 million annually in state and local taxes. During construction it is expected to generate $42.3 million in tax revenue and create more than 3,900 temporary jobs.