Presented at a joint meeting of the Memphis & Shelby County Port Commission and EDGE, a new master plan for the Port of Memphis calls for infrastructure upgrades to Presidents Island and a short, middle, and long-range plan to help maximize the impact of 2,300 acres of under-developed industrial land in the adjacent Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park.

The plan offers recommendations for a wide array of topics, including facility expansions, property redevelopment, economic impact, and environmental analysis, as well as target tenant identification in industries such as steel finishing and production, agricultural processing and food production, intermodal logistics and distribution, waste paper and plastics recycling, and empty container or trailer pools.

Currently, the Port of Memphis supports more than 9,000 direct jobs and an additional 13,000 indirect jobs in the Memphis area with an annual economic impact of $9.3 billion to the local, regional, and statewide economies.  The potential build out of Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park could yield more than 6,000 new direct and indirect jobs, more than $655 million in additional economic impact, and approximately $8 million per year in local tax revenues.

“I believe this is a significant project for us as we seek to repurpose the port and position it for continued use and viability for the next 20 to 50 years,” said Port Commission and EDGE board member Larry Jackson.