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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: March 25, 2013 Contact: Andy Fobes, TPA PR Director, 813.905.5132 or afobes@tampaport.com

Aerial view of the Tampa Gateway Rail terminal, at the Port of Tampa. The $11 million project was recognized as first-place entry in the development category of the 21st Annual Future of the Region Awards, a program of the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, that acknowledges the strongest regional projects in the Tampa Bay area.

Tampa Gateway Rail takes top honors in regional Future of the Region Awards

TAMPA—The Tampa Port Authority (TPA) is pleased to announce that the Port of Tampa’s

collaborative $11 million Tampa Gateway Rail terminal has been awarded the top honor in the

21st Annual Future of the Region Awards—the Charles McIntosh Jr. Award of Distinction, as

well as a first-place award in the Natural Resources and the Environment category.

The annual awards luncheon, hosted by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council

today at the Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon Park, honored the top project entries that

demonstrate strong regional qualities in the following categories: community service;

cultural/sports/recreation; environmental; infrastructure; public education and development. An

independent awards jury reviewed each entry on the criteria of regional quality of life benefit;

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benefit to environment; innovation; cost-effectiveness; capacity for continuing impact and

regional benefit.

The Charles A. McIntosh Jr. Award of Distinction is presented to the entry that touches

each main competitive category, provides excellence in the region and exhibits distinction in

regional visioning. In addition to meeting these criteria, the Tampa Gateway Rail project

embodies a true spirit of partnership.

Through strategic investments by the Tampa Port Authority and its project partners CSX

Rail, Transflo and Kinder Morgan, the Tampa Gateway Rail project, which was officially

dedicated in September 2012, has created unprecedented intermodal connectivity at the Port of

Tampa and will be a major catalyst in promoting trade opportunities for Florida’s largest port and

Central Florida. The rail project is a boon to the efficiency of the ethanol fuel sector and also

creates an important enhancement between general cargoes, container activity and the port’s

hinterland.

“We are very excited that our commitment to develop the Port of Tampa into a world-

class intermodal hub and this significant strategic partnership has been recognized at such a

high and prestigious level. We can’t thank our partners CSX, Transflo and Kinder Morgan

enough for their involvement and enthusiasm for the Tampa Gateway Rail project. I also want

to acknowledge the State of Florida for its strategic investment in the project and of course also

thank the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council for honoring this and so many other

outstanding projects that make the Port of Tampa Bay an impressive and crucial economic

engine,” Paul Anderson, CEO and port director, said.

The Tampa Port Authority (www.tampaport.com) administers Florida’s largest and one of

the nation’s largest and most diversified seaports. The Port of Tampa is the largest economic

engine in West and Central Florida. With more than 8 million people within 100 miles, the port

serves one of the largest consumer markets in the Southeast U.S., supporting nearly 100,000

jobs and $8 million in annual economic impact.

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