Recently, the U.S senate passed a legislation for port and port-related infrastructure modernisation projects. Consequently, the 52 ft Charleston Harbour deepening project has moved closer to construction.
The legislation, passed 2016 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), including authorization for the project, has thus reached its final stage with the U.S House of Representatives now expected to give the final authorization and green light for its construction.
The approval of the Congress would allow construction works to begin, with the project expected to be completed by 2020.
The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 95 to 3 with nearly unanimous bipartisan support.
Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA), said that the WRDA was a critical legislation bill for port infrastructure projects across the country.
SCPA’s chairman Pat McKinney said in a statement that their entire delegation recognizes the importance of this bill as the final hurdle for Charleston Harbor Deepening.
The project, which started in 2012, will allow the port to handle new-Panamax vessels.
Although originally the estimate was for seven years and a US$20m investment for the study and associated environmental reviews and permits, this was cut down to four years and the budget restricted to US$11m.
Governor Nikki Haley said that they will continue working with our federal delegation, state leaders and members of the General Assembly to deepen Charleston’s port, as the success of this project is vital to South Carolina building on the record-breaking economic development momentum we have seen over the last five years.
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Source: Container Management
