No word on what time yet, but it appears that GulfTainer will be welcoming Port and County commissioners, community leaders and other dignitaries to the grand opening of its new cargo terminal next Friday, June 12.
GulfTainer is the UAE-owned cargo shipping conglomerate that signed a multi-year agreement — negotiated in secrecy under the code name Project Pelican — with the Canaveral Port Authority that guarantees commercial rail access by or about Dec. 1, 2017.
That contract has come under fire from outdoorsmen, environmentalists and home owners over a number of issues. At the crux of the embattled cargo rail plan is the proposal to hew an 11-mile-long rail road — either on a 6,000-foot earthen berm or trestle-based causeway — through the middle of the northern Banana River Lagoon.
In addition to being an Estuary of National Significance, the northern Banana River Lagoon is home to the world's largest rookery of brown pelicans and the highest concentration of endangered West Indian manatees in the world.
Check back for details on the event. It's unclear whether the ceremony has the same level of secrecy enshrouding it as the original contract negotiations.