US President Joe Biden recently announced the USD2 trillion American Jobs Plan, which has earmarked investment for the nation’s infrastructure.
The proposal includes USD17 billion in investments in the USA’s ports, waterways and gateway infrastructure. The plan will also modernise 20,000 miles of highways, roads and main streets; rebuild bridges; repair hundreds of stations and facilities; and expand transit and rail services into communities.
The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has welcomed the proposal: “Investment in port infrastructure supports the growth of opportunity throughout the national economy and ensures continued global competitiveness. America’s ports look forward to working with President Biden and bipartisan leaders in Congress to advance significant investments in our nation’s infrastructure.”
The investment plan also set aside provisions relating to clean energy industries.
Heather Zichal, ceo of the American Clean Power Association (ACP), commented: “Simply put, this is a plan to put steel in the ground to build a clean infrastructure system that will be the envy of the world. We cannot afford to miss this moment. We are staring in the face of a once in a generation opportunity for jobs and energy transformation. We cannot solve this challenge by aiming small.
“Piecemeal approaches have failed in the past. It is going to take bold strokes to move our country’s crumbling infrastructure into modernity. This infrastructure plan is a steroid shot to rebuild our economy and get serious about climate change, and they are intertwined. The energy provisions provide certainty and predictability for America’s cleanest technologies and the hundreds of thousands of workers who depend on those jobs and the jobs to come. To build a stronger, cleaner, modern economy, and put Americans to work in manufacturing, building, and innovation, we need to get this across the finish line.”
