Port officials search for supporters

ATLANTA --- Officials from the Georgia Ports Authority met Wednesday with Atlanta transportation executives to solicit customers and allies in lobbying for government appropriations.

Georgia's two deepwater ports in Savannah and Brunswick account for $7.7 billion worth of cargo to and from metro Atlanta, according to figures the agency released Wednesday.

"It becomes obvious as to why the leadership of the (Georgia Chamber of Commerce) is so supportive of getting a transportation plan for the state," said chamber President George Israel.

With the help of the chamber, the ports agency is trying to convince business people around the state of the ports' local impact so they will support government funding for transportation improvements.

"We have to do our part as the business community in making sure we've got those type solutions," Mr. Israel said.

Most of the authority's $1.4 billion, 10-year expansion plan will be funded by bonds repaid from revenues the agency generates internally, but it needs external funds as well.

Congress is being asked to fund deepening the Savannah harbor to accommodate bigger ships, and the state will be called on to fund completion of highways around Savannah for the estimated doubling in truck traffic by 2020.

Already, the authority has a list of more than 600 people from about 100 companies who have agreed to lobby for the Savannah harbor expansion. Adding supporters from companies based in other states widens the network of congressional contacts in time for the year-end deliberations on federal appropriations, said retiring authority Executive Director Doug Marchand.

Despite Savannah's recent growth to become the fourth-largest port in the country, 45 percent of the state's cargo still ships through West Coast ports, leaving lots of business for the authority to tap.

Reach Walter Jones at walter.jones@morris.com