SUPERSIZING : Port elizabeth

Thirty-year-old wharf structures at berths 82 through 98 at the Elizabeth Port Authority Marine Terminal, which forms part of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey complex that also includes Port Newark, are being modernized for the next generation of container ships - the much larger post-Panamax vessels - which will require deeper water and cranes of higher capacity than traditional container ships. The wharf improvements are part of the Port Authority's $650-million terminal redevelopment program now under way at its facilities in Port Elizabeth and Port Newark. The effort also complements the US Army Corps of Engineers' $733-million dredging project to deepen the main shipping channels in New York Bay so that larger vessels can enter the port. The work is scheduled to be carried out in five phases - the final improvements expected to run through 2009 - so the terminal can continue to operate during construction.