Construction starts on container terminal near Baltimore port

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and officials from Tradepoint Atlantic and Terminal Investment Ltd. recently broke ground for the Sparrows Point Container Terminal at Coke Point in Sparrows Point, Maryland. 

The 168-acre container terminal and on-dock rail facility will expand container handling capacity at the Port of Baltimore by 70%, Tradepoint Atlantic and Terminal Investment officials said in a press release. The two companies secured about $1.2 billion in private financing to construct the facility, marking one of the largest private container terminal investments in U.S. history, they said. 

The terminal will handle about 1 million containers annually and generate an estimated $1.5 billion in economic activity for the state. It will feature seven ship-to-shore cranes designed to serve two ultra-large container vessels simultaneously and 162 acres for support facilities to enhance the terminal’s operations. 

“The Sparrows Point Container Terminal will position the port as a true global gateway and economic engine, making Maryland strategically significant and globally competitive for decades to come,” said Tradepoint Atlantic Managing Director Kerry Doyle. 

After it’s completed in 2030, the terminal will elevate the Port of Baltimore from the sixth-largest container port on the Eastern Seaboard to the third largest. 

Tradepoint Rail serves Tradepoint Atlantic’s multimodal complex at Sparrows Point. The largest privately owned short line on the East Coast, Tradepoint Rail operates 70 miles of track and interchanges with CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway, according to Tradepoint Atlantic.