Community gets an inside look at the Port of Gulfport

Big changes are on the way to the Port of Gulfport. This afternoon, a group of visitors got a close up look of what’s going on inside.
News 25’s Gina Tomlinson rode along for the tour and fills us in on what it was all about.
Have you ever wondered what really goes on at the Port of Gulfport? Steve Furr came from New Orleans to get a deeper understanding, along with friends from Gulfport, all aboard a bus for the port’s quarterly tour. “I just wanted to see what the Port of Gulfport was about and I found out that they do do more than just ship bananas.”
Over 200 visitors got the chance to tour the port’s internal operations Thursday afternoon. Gulfport resident Heidi Dedeaux and her family were some of the passengers. “I think it’s good for kids to see the inner workings of it all. The cilos and the cranes were fascinating just the size is just massive.”
Visitors tell News 25 they wanted to get a close up view of the port because they usually only see it from far away. “I felt like it was important to know what’s in our own backyard. I thought it was a really good opportunity to get an inside view,” said Dedeaux.
The group learned about the Port of Gulfport’s most recent projects and latest updates. Port of Gulfport CEO Jonathan Daniels said, “We’re moving forward on a $570 million reconstruction expansion program. We’re about a year away from construction of the cargo terminals. We still have a ways to go, but we’re 425 jobs right now.”
This is the third year the port has hosted quarterly tours and officials say the number of passengers aboard continues to grow. “I plan to come back again. I’d like to bring some more people though just to kind of show them what we have and it’s just something fun to do that’s out of the ordinary,” said Dedeaux.
“Ultimately we’re able to tell a little bit of a story and that story is just about every product in the house that has moved through the port whether it’s someone that purchases a Dole or a Chiquita banana, we’re apart of South Mississippi,” said Daniels.