Published in Wilmington, NC Star News:
The Longshore & Shipping News (Feb.28, 2011) reported that Panama Canal CEO, Alberto Aleman, said that its expansion will ultimately serve just two deepwater ports on the US Eastern seaboard and one in the Gulf. This supports The Citadel engineering professor Dr. William Davis’ finding: expanding existing ports in VA, GA, SC, and NC will result in substantial overcapacity (123%) until at least 2036. The Corps of Engineers’ budget, vital to any port’s development, is being severely cut by Congress.
The proposed $4.4 billion (and counting) NCIT megaport is at a distinct competitive disadvantage. It is years behind in planning, infrastructure building and business development. Recent news that NC State Ports Authority’s bond rating was down graded to BBB+ makes it difficult to get the necessary financing.
Carnegie Mellon’s Dr. David Dzombak concludes “the nation needs to rethink how we go about developing, prioritizing and implementing” projects such as dredging navigation channels and maintaining harbors. North Carolinians must rethink, seek other options.