2022 PIDP: Expanded BIL Funding Delivers a Historic Round

MARAD’s 2022 Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) round was the largest in the program’s history — driven by a doubling of budgeted funds under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). When MARAD later released an updated data set, we were able to sharpen the picture: ~$703M awarded across 41 projects in 22 states and one U.S. Territory, drawn from 141 applications for an applicant success ratio near 30% (up from the usual ~25%). The throughlines: construction-ready projects dominated, the dollars concentrated heavily on the West Coast, energy-transition and environmental-remediation themes were rewarded, and — conspicuously — public-private partnerships went unmentioned in the awards narrative.

Key takeaways

• Historic scale. ~$703M across 41 projects in 22 states and one Territory — the biggest PIDP round ever, driven by BIL.
• The final numbers. 141 applications yielded 41 awards, moving the applicant success ratio to almost 30% from the usual ~25%.
• Concentrated dollars. The Top 10 states captured almost 78% of dollars awarded; Alaska, California, and Washington alone absorbed almost 40%. West Coast states received almost half (49.73%) of all awarded dollars; East Coast states led the rest at ~22%.
• Be construction-ready. Construction projects were funded at a nearly 8.5:1 ratio over planning or combined projects. Without permits and engineering in hand, an award is unlikely.
• Coasts over inland. Of the Top 10 recipient states, only 2 were non-coastal (both on the Great Lakes). Inland-river awards were ~17% of projects but only 10% of dollars, at roughly two-thirds the average award size ($10M vs. ~$15M).
• Energy projects overperformed. 9 energy-related projects (~22% of awards) captured almost 40% of awarded funds — closely aligned with the Administration’s energy-transition goals.

Where the dollars went

MARAD issued its 2022 PIDP awards on October 28th. This round saw the largest dollar amount of awards (~$703M) thanks to a doubling of budgeted funds under BIL, and the largest number of projects (41) and states (22 and one U.S. Territory) in the program’s history. Anybody with an interest in port infrastructure — ports, tenants, logistics firms, equipment suppliers — should get familiar with this program in short order, as there are only four more expanded-funding rounds before the punchbowl vanishes.

When MARAD updated its data set, the fuller picture showed the largest number of applications (141) leading to the largest number of awarded projects (41), moving the applicant success ratio to almost 30% from its usual 25%. Ten states accounted for almost 78% of dollars awarded; Alaska, California, and Washington absorbed almost 40%. Alaska and California were also numbers 1 (23 applications) and 3 (12), respectively, accounting for almost 25% of the total. California and Washington were among the most successful at converting multiple applications into awards, each around 55%. West Coast states received almost half (49.73%) of all awarded dollars, with East Coast states leading the rest at ~22%.

Be construction-ready

Construction projects were funded at a nearly 8.5:1 ratio over planning or combined planning/construction projects. To be clear: if you don’t have your ducks (permits, engineering, etc.) in a row for the application, your project is unlikely to receive an award.

Coasts over inland ports

Projects in coastal states were massively favored over inland-river projects — of the Top 10 grant-recipient states, only 2 are non-coastal, and both are on the Great Lakes. Industry observers identified 7 awarded projects along inland rivers: ~17% of awarded projects, but the associated dollars amount to a paltry 10% of all awards — an average of roughly two-thirds the overall average ($10M vs. $15M). That strikes us as a missed opportunity to build internal improvements that benefit all importers — you can’t efficiently import if you can’t get goods to your customers at a reasonable price. It’s also politically tone-deaf: inland waterways flow through important national electoral areas, and everything hitting the Coasts and Gulf has to move inland somehow — the lowest carbon-intensity way to do that is on water. Come on, MARAD.

Energy-related projects overperformed

Projects with explicit energy-efficiency or EV-infrastructure components, along with those supporting renewable energy production (wind), fared well — 9 such projects received awards (~22% of all awards) and did even better on a dollars basis, capturing almost 40% of awarded funds. That wasn’t an accident; it aligns with the Administration’s energy-transition goals.

What rang the reviewers’ bells

• The Administration’s energy-transition push is crystal clear. Zero-emission and EV infrastructure was called out in a number of projects and framed as a way to address environmental justice. Support for the wind-energy industry (import and construction facilities) was cited as a favorable factor.
• Environmental remediation scored big, with reviewers focusing on storm, sewer, and groundwater elements for awarded projects.
• One glaring omission: public-private partnerships. P3 sits among the catch-all criteria in the NOFO, yet it went unmentioned in the awards — surprising, given it’s frequently cited as a needle-mover for RAISE. Either MARAD didn’t think it mattered to mention, or no funded project had a private partner, which is odd given the types of projects funded.

What it means for you

If history holds, this is becoming a popular program — and that means more competition across the remaining four years of BIL-expanded funding. Applicant volume in 2022 was already well above the first program year’s 62, and we’d expect the field to keep growing. Translation: get your projects shovel-ready and your applications sharp.

Related reading

• 2022 RAISE Awards Analytics
• 2023 RAISE & PIDP Results
• 2024 RAISE Maritime Analytics

This is policy and market intelligence, not legal advice. Thinking about a port project? Talk to us about your project →