Believe it or not, there are still regular political issues ongoing besides the Georgia elections. The U.S. House of Representatives is doing its best to keep regular order, amidst a resigning Speaker and some possibly tense elections in November. Part of that order included today’s passage of the House Appropriations Committee’s 2019 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill, which included $49 million for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP).
Georgia Rep. Tom Graves (R-14), one of two Georgia congressmen on the committee, voted in favor of the measure – which will now go to the full House for consideration.
“The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project is one of the top economic development priorities for the state of Georgia,” said Rep. Graves. “Once completed, it will provide security for the 21,000 American businesses that rely on the Port of Savannah and bring $174 million in annual net benefits to the United States. The critical funding in this bill will help ensure the expansion project stays on schedule.”
Combined with the $35 million in state funding from the recently passed budget for next year, the total amount for the port next year is currently slated at $84 million. This amount is still shy of the $100 million that Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch said earlier this year would be required to keep the port project on schedule.
SHEP is now 50% completed and is slated to be finished by 2021 – whether this funding shortfall will delay that remains to be seen. Lynch and the GPA have said they will continue to push the Georgia congressional delegation for additional funding, although, considering the jobs potential laying in wait by the expansion, the delegation is likely well aware of the need.
A recent study by the Selig Center for Economic Growth at UGA’s Terry College of Business showed that Georgia’s ports support some 439,000 full- and part-time jobs across the state. This figure is based on Fiscal Year 2017 and represents an increase of 70,000 jobs compared to the previous report from 2014.
“The findings are a testament to the powerful, positive impacts that trade through Georgia’s ports have – supporting not only business opportunity, but important infrastructure and services funded through tax proceeds on every level of government,” said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood.
That report came right on the heels of the groundbreaking for the Mason Mega Rail Terminal. The $126 million project will increase the Port of Savannah’s rail capacity by 1 million containers per year – doubling the current total. Upon the groundbreaking, Governor Deal laid out the multiple benefits of the project.
“Not only will this new intermodal facility take trucks off the road and bring our products to market with greater efficiency, but it will open a new corridor for American commerce to and from the Midwest,” said Deal.
