Governor DeSantis Announces $9 Million For New Boat Building Facilities At Port Of Pensacola

Pensacola, FL (NewsRadio 92.3) -- Governor Ron DeSantis visited the Port of Pensacola Thursday to announce nine million dollars in state funding for two new boat building facilities, a move officials say will significantly expand the region's shipbuilding capacity and create thousands of jobs.

The funding will support site development, utilities and construction of the two facilities, which together will add four-hundred-thousand square feet of manufacturing space at the port. DeSantis said the expansion will allow the facility to produce complex Navy ship modules for submarines and surface vessels up to four-hundred feet long.

"This is going to create approximately 2,000 manufacturing and related jobs in the shipbuilding and maritime manufacturing industry," DeSantis said, calling the investment a boost not just for the local economy, but for national defense.

DeSantis pointed to Florida's standing as the nation's top maritime state, home to 21 military installations and 16 deepwater seaports that together support nearly 20 billion dollars in gross domestic product and more than a million jobs statewide. He said Pensacola's location, workforce, and existing infrastructure made the port a natural fit for the expansion.

The announcement builds on a 3.9-million-dollar Job Growth Grant Fund award the state gave the City of Pensacola for port improvements back in 2023. DeSantis said those earlier upgrades helped establish the port as what he called a "high performance maritime center of excellence," work that also helped secure Pensacola's designation as home to America's High Performance Center, which opened earlier this year.

Thursday's investment comes alongside a separate 76-million-dollar grant from Triumph Gulf Coast, which DeSantis said will further strengthen the region's maritime industrial base.

"Today's investment... we're not only bolstering our maritime industry, but supporting national security and ensuring the United States remains a force in maritime dominance on the world stage," DeSantis said.

DeSantis, a former naval officer, said the moment carried personal significance given the region's deep ties to the U.S. Navy. City officials, including Mayor D.C. Reeves, joined DeSantis for the announcement.