Local

Deal, Reed Repeat Support For Savannah Port Project.

March 6th, 2014

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed are both continuing their support for the deepening of the Port of Savannah after the project did not receive the amount of funding supporters desired in President Barack Obama’s 2015 budget proposal.As heard on the radio

On Wednesday, WABE asked Deal if he’d been in contact with fellow Republicans U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss after the budget proposal was released. Deal said he had, and called both men “champions” of the port deepening.

Then reporters asked Deal about Democrat Mayor Reed.

“Well, as you know, Mayor Reed has been our strongest contact at the White House, and he has been a champion in that regard as well,” Deal said. “At what point that support will be more intensified, I don’t know. But I feel certain that he knows, by virtue of his past actions, how important this project is to the state.”

Obama did not include construction funding for the project in his 2015 budget proposal, only $1.62 million for further study of the project – a shock to some Savannah Port supporters.

In a statement, Reed said, “We’re pleased with the support and commitment the Obama Administration has provided to make sure this project continues moving forward.”

A spokesperson for Reed said the project remains important to the mayor.

Funding for the port deepening could still come from the Water Resources Development Act, which is currently sitting in a Congressional Conference Committee.

The port project is estimated to cost about $650 million. The state has put aside $266 million for project, with hopes the federal government will cover the remaining costs.