US President Biden unveils $3 bn US ports boost
ECONOMY & POLICY

US President Biden unveils $3 bn US ports boost

US President Joe Biden unveiled a $3 billion investment towards port infrastructure in Maryland -- and took a swipe at Republican White House candidate Donald Trump a week before Election Day. Biden's visit to the port of Baltimore, a key auto industry hub, came as his Vice President Kamala Harris remains in a tight contest with Trump for the right to succeed him. "I'm proud to announce we're delivering $3 billion in funding from my Inflation Reduction Act to help clean up and modernize ports in 27 different states and territories, from Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and beyond, including yes, Puerto Rico," he said. Biden's jab came after a firestorm over a warm-up comedian at Trump's weekend rally in New York called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage." Trump's campaign has since tried to distance the former president from the remarks. Biden also played up his administration's efforts to modernize US infrastructure, saying his predecessor Trump has not done the same. He pointed to investments from his government's policies going more to Republican-leaning states than Democratic ones, alongside the country's pandemic recovery. "We're seeing the great American comeback," he said. The White House said Tuesday that funds from the Inflation Reduction Act -- a package of energy transition policy and social reforms -- will go towards improving and electrifying port infrastructure. This involves supporting purchases of battery- and hydrogen-powered equipment, including those used to handle cargo, alongside charging and fueling infrastructure. The grants include $147 million in awards for the Maryland Port Administration. US ports hire more than 100,000 union workers across the country. As Election Day draws close, both Harris and Trump have been fighting to win over blue-collar workers, especially in swing states. The grants announced Tuesday come under a "clean ports" program that authorities hope can improve air quality by installing "clean, zero-emission freight and ferry technologies along with associated infrastructure." The aim is to eliminate more than three million metric tons of carbon pollution over 10 years. "It's imperative to clean up our ports as soon as possible to alleviate serious public health issues," said Terrance Bankston, senior ports and freights campaigner at environmental non-profit Friends of the Earth. Biden's visit comes months after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in March, which closed ship traffic in and out of the port of Baltimore and killed six workers.

US President Joe Biden unveiled a $3 billion investment towards port infrastructure in Maryland -- and took a swipe at Republican White House candidate Donald Trump a week before Election Day. Biden's visit to the port of Baltimore, a key auto industry hub, came as his Vice President Kamala Harris remains in a tight contest with Trump for the right to succeed him. I'm proud to announce we're delivering $3 billion in funding from my Inflation Reduction Act to help clean up and modernize ports in 27 different states and territories, from Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and beyond, including yes, Puerto Rico, he said. Biden's jab came after a firestorm over a warm-up comedian at Trump's weekend rally in New York called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. Trump's campaign has since tried to distance the former president from the remarks. Biden also played up his administration's efforts to modernize US infrastructure, saying his predecessor Trump has not done the same. He pointed to investments from his government's policies going more to Republican-leaning states than Democratic ones, alongside the country's pandemic recovery. We're seeing the great American comeback, he said. The White House said Tuesday that funds from the Inflation Reduction Act -- a package of energy transition policy and social reforms -- will go towards improving and electrifying port infrastructure. This involves supporting purchases of battery- and hydrogen-powered equipment, including those used to handle cargo, alongside charging and fueling infrastructure. The grants include $147 million in awards for the Maryland Port Administration. US ports hire more than 100,000 union workers across the country. As Election Day draws close, both Harris and Trump have been fighting to win over blue-collar workers, especially in swing states. The grants announced Tuesday come under a clean ports program that authorities hope can improve air quality by installing clean, zero-emission freight and ferry technologies along with associated infrastructure. The aim is to eliminate more than three million metric tons of carbon pollution over 10 years. It's imperative to clean up our ports as soon as possible to alleviate serious public health issues, said Terrance Bankston, senior ports and freights campaigner at environmental non-profit Friends of the Earth. Biden's visit comes months after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in March, which closed ship traffic in and out of the port of Baltimore and killed six workers.

Next Story
Infrastructure Transport

Kavach 4.0 Commissioned on Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah

"Kavach version four has been commissioned on 1,452 route km, covering the high density Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah corridors. The rollout included laying 8,570 km of optical fibre, installation of 1,100 telecom towers, deployment of trackside equipment over 6,776 RKm and establishment of 767 station data centres. Trackside implementation has been taken up on 24,427 RKm covering Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal and High Density Network sections. The programme aims to strengthen signalling and train protection on key routes.Kavach is an indigenously developed automatic train protecti..

Next Story
Infrastructure Transport

Railways Advance Kalyan–Murbad Line And Mumbai Capacity Expansion

"Indian Railways is advancing multiple rail infrastructure projects in Maharashtra, including the sanctioned Kalyan–Murbad new line and sizable investments under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project and the Mumbai–Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project. The Kalyan–Murbad 28 km new line has been sanctioned at Rs 8.36 billion (bn) on a 50:50 cost-sharing basis with the Government of Maharashtra and has been declared a Special Railway Project for land acquisition; proposals covering 214 hectares are at various stages of acquisition. Budgetary outlay for projects falling fully or partly in Maharash..

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

Parliamentary Panel Flags Funding Gaps in Heavy Industries

"The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry (Rajya Sabha) presented its 332nd report on the Demands for Grants 2026-27 of the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI). Figures converted from crore and lakh are expressed in million (mn). The Budget Estimates 2026-27 for the Ministry stand at Rs 79,399 mn against a projected requirement of Rs 94,843.2 mn, a shortfall of about 16 per cent, with revenue at Rs 79,370.8 mn and capital compressed to Rs 28.2 mn from Rs 5,020 mn.The committee flagged recurring BE-to-RE compression and declining revised estimate utilisation, and calle..

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement