Development of New Container Terminal in Jacksonville

Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) is a governmental landlord port authority responsible for maritime growth in Jacksonville (the client). The port operates three terminal facilities on the St Johns River; Blount Island, Talleyrand and Dames Point Marine Terminals. In 2005 the client signed a lease agreement with Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) to develop a new $230 million container terminal on Dames Point that will make JAXPORT one of the largest container facilities on the U.S. East Coast. The client commissioned Halcrow to permit, design and administer the construction of the ambitious project within a 40-month time frame. Immediately from project kick-off it was recognized by the project team that the project schedule would be a challenge. Based on preliminary concepts for the terminal, contractors advised that the 160 acre terminal would require at least 30 months for construction. If this advice was accurate there would only be 12 months to obtain permits, complete the designs and publically bid the project. It was clear that for this project to be delivered on schedule there would need to be an unprecedented level of cooperation and teamwork among all parties to the project. In order to foster a community spirit, the project manager assembled a local team of professionals that understood the importance of this project to the community, recognizing that up to 6,000 new jobs could be created. Both the project team understood that the complexity of the project and its potential impact on the environment would place the permitting process on the critical path. Accordingly, we engaged the permit authorities in open, honest dialogue regarding decisions and needs for the project very early in the planning, which built a sense of trust and confidence between the project team and the permit agencies. This paper will describe how the project team addressed challenges throughout the project and turned them into opportunities to save money and reduce the schedule. The potential economic impact on Jacksonville and the surrounding region meant that the development attracted significant media scrutiny which made success critically important. The project team was honest, ethical and professional, thus engendering a trust and cooperation in the community, which we believe ultimately, catalysed the success of this project.