NC Ports Authority reassessing megaport

The NC State Ports Authority has spent about US$10.2 million planning a proposed megaport in Brunswick County, but after a tumultuous few days, the agency is "re-evaluating where we are" with the project, McClatchy-Tribune Regional News reported.

Exactly what that means is unclear, but the words came in response to questions about the project's future, including whether port officials still believed there is economic justification for the $2 billion-plus NC International Terminal and whether it still hoped to open the facility in this decade.

It was a rough week for the Ports Authority, which has been planning the huge container terminal for several years.

Earlier this week, the General Assembly declined to pay its share of a federal feasibility study, a required step in the development process. A day later, US Rep Mike McIntyre, D-Lumberton, citing a laundry list of concerns, voiced his opposition to the project in a strongly worded news release, putting overall federal support for the project in peril.

Also, a state representative suggested the state sell the proposed port site – 600 acres on the Cape Fear River near Southport – or use it as a park.

The comments are the first indication that the Ports Authority is wavering in its bid to build a huge container port on the Cape Fear River. During the five years since the project's inception, the authority has spent roughly $10.2 million on it, including planning, engineering technical reports, debt service on the property, and legal and financial fees.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)