Latest news with #PortMiami
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Running on Ice: Miami takes giant leap in fresh‑food logistics with $141M cold chain hub
Miami is cementing its position as a major gateway for perishable goods into the U.S. with the groundbreaking of a cutting-edge cold storage and phytosanitary facility at Miami International Airport (MIA). This $141 million project, part of a public-private partnership between the airport and PortMiami, ushered in a new era for fresh produce, seafood, and flower imports along the East Coast. Set to open in 2027, the sprawling 340,000‑square‑foot complex, about six football fields in size, will boost MIA's cold storage capacity by 50%, adding around 1.5 million tons per year of refrigerated space. Eighty percent of the facility will be devoted to temperature‑controlled cold storage, with the remainder serving as cutting‑edge treatment zones. Notably, 20% of the space will feature USDA‑certified, non‑chemical pest‑control technology that relies on electron‑beam pasteurization, allowing quicker inspections and better fruit quality by replacing dated fumigation methods. This capital injection follows a July 2024 lease approval for a four‑story freight terminal, which is expected to handle an additional 2 million tons of cargo through PortMiami. With MIA handling a record 3 million tons of cargo in 2024, including 90,000 tons of floral imports for Valentine's Day alone, the need for modernized storage and plant health inspections has never been greater. Subscribe to the newsletter to get the full edition in your inbox every Friday The post Running on Ice: Miami takes giant leap in fresh‑food logistics with $141M cold chain hub appeared first on FreightWaves.
Miami Herald
22-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
How Miami's airport and seaport are working to get you fresher fruit and flowers
Miami International Airport is boosting cargo capacity by as much as 50% with a new facility that broke ground on Monday, a sign of its expanding role in providing fresh fish, fruit and flowers to consumers across the East Coast. The $141 million joint initiative with PortMiami will transform vacant land southwest of the airport at Northwest 74th Avenue and 12th Street. Slated to open in 2027, the 340,000-square-foot cold storage complex, about the size of six NFL fields, will allow more fresh produce and other perishables to enter the U.S. through Miami. Hollywood-based Mandich Group, a privately held cold storage development firm, is putting in $98.5 million and the PortMiami will contribute $9 million. The port will also provide $33.5 million it obtained from a U.S. Department of Transportation grant. 'It will be the first center of its kind in the state of Florida and the largest in the U.S.,' PortMiami spokesperson Suzy Trutie said in an interview with the Miami Herald. The airport and seaport receive lots of perishables. PortMiami puts them on trucks and sends them to MIA for storage and treatment before they're further transported. The new building will allow them to do more of that. 'For us, it's a way to expand our cargo business and trade,' Trutie said. The new center has the capacity to handle over 1.5 million tons of agricultural cargo annually, Greg Chin, communications director for Miami-Date Aviation Department, told the Herald. That's half the 3 million tons the airport received in 2024. Booming Valentine's Day MIA is growing, not just in passenger volume, but in freight, and it seeks to keep up with rising demand. The amount of cargo it handled in 2024 was a record for the fifth straight year. That included the vast majority of fresh-cut flowers the U.S. imports for Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. By Valentine's Day 2025, airport officials estimated that more than 90,000 tons of fresh-cut flowers arrived at the airport. That was also a new record for MIA, 3% higher than the previous record set in 2023. It totaled about $400 million in value. Fed Ex Private companies have taken notice. MIA is the site of FedEx's largest 'cold chain operation' worldwide, Basil Khalil, vice president of operations for FedEx Caribbean and Central America, told the Herald in February. About three years ago, the shipping company made a big bet on Miami by doubling the size of its cargo facility at MIA, said the Miami-based executive. That brought it to over 280,000 square feet. FedEx has more than 500 employees at the site. 'The flower industry helps employ thousands of people in Colombia and here at MIA,' Khalil said. It's not only during Valentine's Day that bouquets come in. Several hundred airport, seaports and border crossings handle international trade, yet MIA stands out. In 2024, the U.S. imported $2.26 billion in fresh-cut flowers, an increase in value of 9% compared to 2023, according to data provided by Ken Roberts, founder and CEO of WorldCity, a data and media company that hosts the website. MIA handled a whopping 81% of that. Colombian carrier Avianca Cargo and LATAM Cargo both have robust operations at MIA. DHL Express is growing, too. MIA has other works in progress for boosting cargo capacity. In July 2024, the Miami-Dade County Commission approved a lease agreement with Miami Gateway Partners, LLC, to build a four-story cargo facility that would increase Miami International Airport's storage capacity by 2 million tons. PortMiami PortMiami is growing its cargo business as well. It traded with 149 nations and handled about 10 million tons of freight in 2024. The space that broke ground on Monday — drawing officials including Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava — more directly benefits perishables. The complex will include a cold chain processing facility that provides cold storage, warehousing, distribution and other services for perishable goods. When the facility is complete, it will increase temperature-controlled storage space at MIA by as much as 34%, to 521,000 square feet, Chin said. The cold storage area will cover about 80% of the new space. The remaining 20% will be a new area to eradicate pests from refrigerated cargo containers and air cargo pallets. That treatment area will utilize non-chemical 'advanced treatments and inspection capabilities' to speed up inspections of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and other plant-based perishable items, said Trutie, the PortMiami spokesperson. This will mark a change from the chemical treatment used today. The Norcross, Georgia-based company Reveam will be brought in, providing a new pasteurization technology for fresh produce it developed that doesn't use chemicals or heat, but electrons. The treatments are certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and meant to expedite inspections for 'invasive pests and diseases that threaten U.S. agriculture.' The new cold storage complex is expected to result in 200 new jobs. It'll have environmental benefits too: The early pest and disease detection will help preserve native ecosystems. And 'it's going to reduce spoilage and inspection delays,' Levine Cava said at the ceremony on Monday.
CBS News
29-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
2 county employees caught on camera stealing over $50,000 worth of artwork at PortMiami, sheriff's office says
Two PortMiami employees were arrested this week after they were caught on camera stealing over $50,000 of art, the sheriff's office said. On Thursday morning, the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office said it had arrested and charged 27-year-old Angel Prudhomme and 50-year-old Tangela Park with second-degree grand theft. Arrest documents revealed that Park is also facing a criminal mischief charge. According to MDSO, both Prudhomme and Park were county employees assigned to PortMiami as custodial workers. "As Sheriff of Miami-Dade County, I take individuals using their employment to steal very seriously," said Miami-Dade County Sheriff Rose Cordero-Stutz. "I am committed to ensuring that anyone involved in dishonest actions will be held accountable." A tip received by public corruption investigators led to the arrests Last Friday, Public Corruption Section investigators with MDSO's Internal Affairs Office were notified by port authorities of a possible art theft inside one of the terminals. Detectives then met with port authorities and reviewed surveillance video, which showed two PortMiami workers removing artwork from the terminal, loading it into their vehicles and leaving the port with it. During the investigation, Prudhomme was identified as one of the employees caught on camera, where he was seen removing artwork from the walls inside Terminal G on May 12 and concealing it in a stairwell. According to arrest documents, he was also seen concealing mosaic and marble pieces of art inside trash cans and bags while trying to avoid security cameras. The following day, Prudhomme was seen taking the art and putting it into Park's vehicle. Public Corruption Section detectives then took over the investigation and with the assistance of the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, they obtained warrants for Prudhomme and Park's arrests. According to arrest documents, 12 of the 24 pieces were damaged by the "improper removal and transportation" of the artwork and were left at the terminal. These items were later recovered by the Sea Port General Investigations unit. After receiving consent to a search, the other 12 pieces were found on Wednesday at Prudhomme's home and vehicle, where they were also found to be damaged. According to MDSO, the art collection manager said the artwork was last appraised at around $50,000. After being told their Miranda rights, Prudhomme and Park admitted to removing the artwork before being taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center for booking.
