Port of Miami Earns Engineering Recognition

Given its location in the heart of the Caribbean Basin, it is small wonder that the Port of Miami should be looking forward to the Panama Canal expansion in 2014. That does not mean, however, that the authority there is taking anything for granted.

Indeed, Miami has been waging an aggressive expansion strategy of its own. Further evidence of that surfaced recently when the port earned a National Recognition Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies for its 2035 Master Plan. This came as part of the organization’s Engineering Excellence Awards competition honoring projects that demonstrate exceptional achievement in engineering.

The master plan was created for PortMiami by Bermello, Ajamil & Partners, an international, multidisciplinary design firm that provides planning, design, and engineering services. Both the “PortMiami 2035 Master Plan Project” and the firm will be recognized on April 23 during a ceremony in Washington DC.

“The Master Plan received this recognition because of the Port’s wide-ranging goal to focus on community development, community integration and sustainability—which made 2035 Master Plan more than just a collection of projects,” said Luis Ajamil, the Miami-based engineer who led the project. “The 2035 Master Plan focuses not simply on the Port, but also PortMiami’s relation to neighboring communities and its Biscayne Bay locale.”

This achievement coincides with the ongoing channel-deepening project.

“As the closest port to the Panama Canal, we are well positioned to capture new trade opportunities,” said port director, Bill Johnson, in an interview. “A deeper channel will provide ships with a more efficient, reliable and safe navigational route into Miami.”

Meanwhile, the port’s master plan calls for enhanced infrastructure on the Port’s 518-acre site including proposals for an intermodal transportation and further re-development of properties for maritime purposes.

A new Port Tunnel is now under construction, and Miami is also building an on-dock rail network.

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