Hatch on board with PhilaPort

The Port of Philadelphia, the largest refrigerated cargo port in the US, has developed a 15-year strategic facility plan to guide a new phase of expansion projects that will capture and accommodate unprecedented growth in container and cargo volumes.

In support of this goal, PhilaPort engaged Hatch to carry out its Comprehensive Strategic Facility Plan (CSFP), which included the following components: baselining and condition assessment of its marine terminals; a maritime market assessment; capacity studies for marine terminals and road and rail connections; stakeholder engagement; and the development, evaluation, and selection of a final plan to guide future investments.

This comprehensive strategic facility plan comes after more than a decade-long dredging effort to deepen the Delaware River to 45 feet, along with a separate project to create PhilaPort’s first new multiuse berth in 50 years. The projects will allow the port to accommodate larger cargo ships to grow container capacity by 18%, with the ultimate goal of making PhilaPort more competitive with its peers up and down the East Coast.

The multidisciplinary Hatch teams from Ports & Terminals, Urban Solutions, Advisory, and Transit will collaborate to improve the Port’s marine terminals and associated warehouse and transportation facilities.

Damon Jericho, Hatch’s Global Director of Ports and Terminals, and Jerry Sweeney, PhilaPort’s Board Chairman, had the opportunity to speak about the CSFP and the future of PhilaPort as guests on the first episode of “Ship Philly First!”, a new miniseries recently launched by the Port of Philadelphia.