Dive Brief:

• President Obama’s historic effort to renew diplomatic relations with Cuba after 50 years could mean opportunities for U.S. contractors, especially those in Florida.

• Economists told the Sun Sentinel this week that south Florida will become the hub for the coming boom of tourism to and from Cuba, which could call for more building in the state with the most Cuban immigrants. In addition, American contractors are likely to be called on to work in Cuba, building homes, shoring up tourism facilities, and repairing infrastructure.

• "It looks like it could be a significant economic boon down there,” University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith told the newspaper. “No one is better poised."

Dive Insight:

U.S. construction supply companies are already devising strategies for getting their products to the island. A spokesman for John Deere, for example, told The New York Times that Cuba is a potential market for the company’s agriculture and construction equipment.

Still, it could be months before Congress works out the details of the new arrangement. Obama’s Wednesday announcement, noted Jorge Salazar-Carrillo, a professor of economics in Florida International University's School of International and Public Affairs, in an interview with the Sun Sentinel, “is not the end of the story. It's going to be a tough go with Congress.”