Deal: Port funding proposal falls short, but moves project forward

“This amount certainly falls far short of what we were hoping for, particularly considering the time pressures we face on this project and the 5-to-1 return on investment our nation will begin to receive once this is completed,” Deal said. “With the understanding that we’ll have a 60-40 federal-state split on funding, Georgia has lived up to its promises. We’ve now put aside $231 million, which is a significant portion of our share. The federal government has funded only a small fraction of its obligations, and we would like to see more and quicker progress on this front. That said, this funding in the president’s budget shows the administration’s support for the Record of Decision that gives the go-ahead for us to move forward. Now that this is an approved project, we hope we’ll receive additional federal dollars through the Corps of Engineers budget for port projects.”