Obama’s Budget Light on Savannah Port Funding

“Obviously this is not as much as we need from the federal government. Far from it. The governor is disappointed there’s not a bigger investment, particularly given the time constraints.”

Deal sees the project as crucial for Georgia to remain competitive once the Panama Canal is expanded in 2014, making way for larger ships that require deeper ports.

The state has already devoted $231 million to the project. Its total price tag is $652 million.  Robinson says the state is ultimately expecting the federal government to cover 60-70 percent of the total project cost.

Despite Deal frequently speaking out against out-of-control federal spending, Robinson maintains deepening the port is the type of project the government should be funding.

“It’s not entitlement spending that continues on forever and ever and explodes in the out years,” said Robinson. “This is an upfront investment that will pay dividends for years to come. Once this is paid for it’s paid for, and that’s the kind of investment we need to create jobs in Georgia and the Southeast.”

While acknowledging the setback, Deal’s office is trying to look at the bright side. The federal budget is far from final. Congress has its own version and negotiations with the White House will go on for months.  And Robinson says the fact that the project is in the president’s budget at all means it could be up for funding in other ways.  

“This shows the Obama administration has ratified the Army Corps of Engineers’ record of decisions which makes this an approved project which means we can get funding out of the Corps’ regular budget report so there’s another pot we can dip into in the future.”

Another sign additional funds could be forthcoming is the president included the dredging project on a list of top infrastructure priorities nationally.

No matter what happens in subsequent months in Washington, construction for the deepening project is set to begin later this year using existing state funds.