Portland’s public officials are now deciding whether to allow construction of a new $30 million frozen food warehouse in the industrial zone next to the Eimskip container terminal on the waterfront. The Eimskip business has been a great success, and with the addition of the freezer, the company will put its roots more firmly into Portland’s and Maine’s economies.

All prominent seaports along the East Coast have one thing in common: a network of warehousing, roadway and rail facilities surrounding them. Portland does not now have all of these elements.

For example, Portland’s seafood processors now store their frozen product in Massachusetts and truck it up the interstate when they need it. The proposed Americold freezer would make this unnecessary. So, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here to add valuable infrastructure entirely at the expense of a private company that’s willing to invest in us.

Critics say the warehouse may look ugly. But to an old seaport guy like me, it looks like employment, economic muscle and opportunity that fit perfectly into Portland’s goals.

Tom Valleau

president, Portland Fish Exchange

Portland

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