Work on port is a sound investment

This summer’s “We Can’t Wait” initiative, created by presidential executive order, will speed permitting and decision-making in the modernization and expansion of five major U.S. ports. With the clock ticking toward the opening of an expanded Panama Canal sending larger container ships our way beginning in 2015, the case for these port projects — including expanding the Savannah Harbor — is increasingly urgent. The U.S. economy can thrive again, but we must invest now in the infrastructure to fuel another generation of growth and to help ensure America’s global competitiveness.

“We Can’t Wait” also establishes a White House-led, multi-federal agency Navigation Task Force that will develop a strategy focused on the economic return on investments into coastal ports and related infrastructure to support the movement of commerce in the nation. Such a study was conducted for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, and the results show the nation will benefit greatly from this investment. In fact, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the project will yield a benefit-to-cost ratio of 5.5 dollars for every dollar spent on the deepening and will provide a net annual benefit of $174 million to the nation.

Georgians will also benefit. Location near an efficient port avoids landside transpor- tation costs and continues to attract businesses to our area. According to a recent University of Georgia study, 352,000 jobs in Georgia are connected to the state’s ports. Crucial to supporting these jobs is our ability to export as efficiently as possible containers filled with raw materials (including Georgia’s kaolin clay) and manufactured goods (including our state’s forest products, poultry and other products). The port now handles 12 percent of the total export tonnage leaving the U.S.

The corps recently delivered its project recommendation to the Assistant Secretary of the Army and the Office of Management and Budget for final review and approval. The corps’ study of the harbor expansion project over the past dozen years has included unprecedented consultations among the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service and other federal and state agencies, as well as nongovernmental stakeholders, to identify and address all issues of concern.

The next step toward federal approval and funding is the Record of Decision. Upon final approval, significant construction can begin next year. Our ability to compete successfully in world trade — for our state, our region and our country — depends on it.