INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana officials are considering an expansion of the state’s port system.
Gov. Eric Holcomb is pushing a proposal to locate a port along the Ohio River in southeastern Indiana, The Indianapolis Business Journal (https://bit.ly/2sQLikr ) reported.
The move would give Indiana its third port along the river and fourth port overall. The ports allow 25 million tons of cargo to pass through each year. Cargo includes grain, coal, steel, fertilizer, limestone, ethanol and salt.
Ports of Indiana, an agency that oversees the ports, says the three ports contribute more than $6 billion to the state economy each year and support more than 51,000 jobs.
The state is considering a new port at the site of a former power plant in Lawrenceburg.
“Waterborne (transportation) is really important to Indiana, and most people don’t even think about it,” said David Holt, vice president of operations and business development at Conexus Indiana, the Indianapolis-based group that supports the state’s logistics and advanced manufacturing industries.
In recent years, the three ports have acquired property to accommodate growth, and cargo volume has reached record highs, said Ports of Indiana vice president Jody Peacock.
How much the project would cost, where funding would come from and when it might open are still unknown, Peacock said.
“We’re very optimistic about the project but there still needs to be a due diligence process,” he said. “These are long-term developments. It’s looking decades into the future.”
It took more than 15 years to build the port in Jeffersonville, which opened in 1985, Peacock said.
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Information from: Indianapolis Business Journal, https://www.ibj.com
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