Prospects for a major expansion of Maine exports of refrigerated cargo will improve dramatically with the anticipated 2024 completion of the Maine International Cold Storage Facility, now under construction on the Portland waterfront. The anticipated benefits to Maine commerce of the 107,000 square foot, $55 million project will be discussed in depth by a panel at Hannaford Hall at the University of Southern Maine in Portland on Wednesday, November 16 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., presented by the Camden Conference, a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization dedicated to fostering informed discourse on global affairs. Co-sponsoring the event are the Maine International Trade Center, the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, and the University of Southern Maine.

The new facility is expected to meet the refrigerated cargo demand of Icelandic shipping company Eimskip and be large enough to accommodate customers from Maine’s growing food, beverage and bio-pharmaceutical industries.

The Hannaford Hall panel will include Wade Merritt, president of Maine International Trade Center; Matthew Burns, executive director of Maine Port Authority; and Peter Rahn, Director of Quality and Food Innovation at Atlantic Sea Farms, the first commercially viable seaweed farm in the United States. The discussion will be moderated by Carol Coultas, business projects editor of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. The discussion will also cover the general outlook for Maine exports and improvements to Maine seaports.

The panel is free and open to the public and may be attended in person or virtually.

The Hannaford Hall event is held in anticipation of the 2023 Camden Conference, Global Trade and Politics: Managing Turbulence, to be held live the weekend of February 17 – 19, 2023 at the Camden Opera House and live-streamed to venues in Portland, Rockland and Belfast. See camdenconference.org for more information.