Talk of establishing a third port in Georgia is just that right now - talk. Even the Georgia Ports Authority understands the problems of trying to open a three-port front in the current financial climate, especially when it has mega-projects already in the wind.
That includes the deepening of the Port of Savannah, to 48 feet. Cost of the project is well in excess of a half-billion dollars, and the ports authority is nowhere near bringing in that amount.
The state is kicking in millions and is hoping for more than a token million here and million there that Washington is promising to throw into the pot.
The port authority says the Savannah deepening is necessary, despite its astronomical cost, to accommodate the larger vessels that will begin using the revamped Panama Canal and looking for port stops along the East Coast.
These mammoth ships will require deeper water, and the Georgia Ports Authority is more than eager to oblige them.
It's still working on funding for the deepening, knowing full well that getting anything out of the federal government is a major undertaking.
Just convincing the deficit- and debt-weary Congress to fork over the few million dollars necessary to maintain the Port of Brunswick's channel at 36 feet can be a sometimes frustrating ordeal.
This is why, at least for now, that a third port - a third financial front for the Georgia Ports Authority - should remain out of the question. It's a question of affordability, of providing huge sums of money that neither state nor federal government claim to have just now.
A third port could be an asset to the state, but not today.
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1 Comment
jw
and the shipping companies and corporations which will make the profit off taxpayer infrastructure will contribute how much??? NOTHING, more corporate welfare.
jw
2/22/2012