Pennsylvania has committed $371.5 million to an $837 million PhilaPort expansion, the largest in the port’s history. State officials expect the funding to unlock $466 million in private and federal investment and to build a 2,000-foot berth at Southport Marine Terminal, described as the port’s first new berth in 50 years.
Governor Josh Shapiro announced the package on October 13 at PhilaPort, the state agency that owns seaport facilities along the Delaware River. The $837 million total combines the state capital funding with more than $200 million in private investment and $266 million in federal support. As a result, the PhilaPort expansion becomes the largest capital program in the port’s history, according to the governor’s office.
Meanwhile, PhilaPort has paired public money with named private partners, a step that remains pending at another East Coast terminal project. In New York, the Brooklyn Marine Terminal redevelopment in Red Hook carries a $3.5 billion Vision Plan that a city task force approved in September 2025, yet the site is still in environmental review and still seeking a long-term port operator. NYCEDC has said it aims to issue a request for proposals for that operator by the end of 2026, and its project page lists an eighth advisory task force meeting for October 21.
PhilaPort Expansion Adds a Southport Berth and Builds Out Mustin Yard
The centerpiece of the PhilaPort expansion is a new 2,000-linear-foot berth at Southport Marine Terminal. Pennsylvania’s capital funding earmarks $31 million for dredging at Southport Berth I and $145 million for reclamation work at Southport Berth II and the North Wharf.
In addition, the PhilaPort expansion sets aside $109.4 million for land acquisition and $58.1 million for cranes and equipment. Those four lines total $343.5 million of the $371.5 million state package, and the governor’s office did not itemize the remaining $28 million.
The land component centers on the 152-acre Mustin Yard, which sits next to Southport. PhilaPort closed its purchase of the parcel from Norfolk Southern on September 30, 2025, and the site already contains an intermodal transfer facility that both parties said they intend to activate. Moreover, state officials said PhilaPort will acquire and develop further properties in its Southern Port District to add container capacity.
Separately, PhilaPort will upgrade the Tioga Marine Terminal berth so that it can better handle liquid bulk barges and breakbulk vessels.
Southport has been a long-running ambition for the authority. In June 2021, PhilaPort was selected for a $49 million INFRA grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation as gap funding for a $130 million multi-use berth at the site. The governor’s office said the new state capital will leverage two federal Department of Transportation grants, but it did not identify which ones.
PhilaPort Expansion Funding Leans on Private Commitments From Holt and GLOVIS America
Pennsylvania’s $371.5 million is designed to draw $466 million from other sources. Of that amount, more than $200 million is expected from the private sector and $266 million from federal grants. Holt Logistics, a family-owned terminal and logistics operator, and GLOVIS America, the U.S. arm of Hyundai Glovis, are each reported to be committing $100 million, although the governor’s release did not itemize private contributions.
GLOVIS America CEO Scott Cornell said the project gives the world’s largest ocean carrier of finished vehicles the terminal capacity it needs to meet customer demand. He added that the partners can build PhilaPort into a “premier ocean terminal.”
Furthermore, Holt Logistics President Leo Holt described the program as “a job multiplier that will go on for the better part of a decade.” That timeframe is the only schedule signal in the announcement.
The state has a sizable stake of its own. Officials said the commonwealth has invested more than $600 million in PhilaPort over the past 10 years, so the new package equals more than half of that decade-long total. Recent projects include about $10 million from PennDOT for construction that began in January to ease congestion outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, and $11 million over two years for annual maintenance dredging.
PhilaPort Expansion Targets 122 Percent More Container Capacity and 6,000 Jobs
State officials project that the PhilaPort expansion will raise container capacity across the port’s facilities by 122 percent and auto capacity by 18 percent. Therefore, the port aims to build on a record that the governor’s office summarizes as three straight years as the most productive container port in the country.
The same officials expect the work to create more than 6,000 jobs and generate $45 million in state and local taxes. For context, the governor’s office said PhilaPort supported more than 8,000 jobs in 2025 and contributed nearly $1.2 billion in economic output across Pennsylvania. If the projection holds, the port’s job base would rise to roughly 14,000.
Labor groups welcomed the announcement. Bill Hamilton, Eastern Region vice president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said the investment would bring thousands of jobs, including for workers without a college degree. Dan Duffy, a member of International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1291, said the funding would help keep the waterfront a source of work for local families.
PhilaPort CEO and Executive Director Rich Lazer said the funding would help the port attract new business and increase market share. Board chair Mike Pearson tied the capital to the port’s Destination 2040 Strategic Plan.
Finally, the announcement did not include construction start dates, completion dates or contractor names. Procurement and timing for the Southport berth therefore remain undisclosed.
Project Overview
- Project Name: PhilaPort expansion (Southport berth, Mustin Yard and related works)
- Owner and Developer: Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PhilaPort)
- Location: Port of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Southport, Tioga and Southern Port District)
- Project Type: Marine terminal and port capacity expansion
- Project Value: More than $837 million
- Funding Mix: $371.5 million Pennsylvania capital funding; more than $200 million private; $266 million federal grants
- Key Works: New 2,000-linear-foot Southport berth; dredging; reclamation; Mustin Yard development; Tioga berth improvements; cranes and equipment
- Site Area: 152-acre Mustin Yard parcel, acquired September 2025
- Capacity Increase: 122 percent container and 18 percent auto, per state projection
- Announcement Date: October 13, 2026
- Construction Start: Not publicly disclosed
- Target Completion: Not publicly disclosed
- Jobs and Tax Impact: More than 6,000 new jobs and $45 million in state and local taxes, per state projection
- Procurement Model: Not publicly disclosed
- Strategic Plan: Destination 2040
Project Team
Owner and Developer
- Port Authority and Developer: PhilaPort
Public Funders and Agencies
- State Funding and Announcement: Governor of Pennsylvania
- State Transportation Partner: PennDOT
- Federal Grant Funder: U.S. Department of Transportation
Private Partners
- Private Investor and Terminal Operator: Holt Logistics
- Private Investor and Vehicle Logistics: GLOVIS America
- Parent Company of GLOVIS America: Hyundai Glovis
- Mustin Yard Seller: Norfolk Southern
Labor
- Labor Organization: International Brotherhood of Teamsters
- Labor Organization: International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1291 (official website not verified)
Design Team and Contractors
- Design and Construction: Not yet awarded or publicly named
Related Project Referenced
- Brooklyn Marine Terminal Sponsor: NYCEDC
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