The federal government has signed off Delaware’s deal to lease the Port of Wilmington to Middle Eastern port operator Gulftainer.
Gov. John Carney (D) announced Thursday that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) determined the deal is “not a covered transaction” and no further review is required at the federal level.
Carney calls the news “a significant step” toward completing the deal.
Secretary of State Jeff Bullock adds it’s the best posisble news Delaware could recieve and paves the way to finalizing the contract over the summer. The final terms need to be approved by the public-private Diamond State Port Corporation, which oversees port operations.
Under the agreement, Gulftainer will lease the port for 50 years and invest more than $580 million in new technology and a new container terminal at the old DuPont Edgemoor site.
It’ll also pay fees to the state based on cargo volume. The Carney administration expects those fees to reach an estimated $13 million annually over the next decade.
The administration also expects the deal to create what Carney calls "good-paying, blue collar jobs."
