President Donald Trump on Monday requested a $49 million installment toward deepening the busy shipping channel to the Port of Savannah, once asking for roughly half the federal money Georgia officials say the project needs to avoid construction delays.
The $973 million project has been underway for more than two years and dredging of the 18-mile outer harbor where the Savannah River meets the Atlantic Ocean is nearly complete. Nearing the halfway mark, the Georgia Ports Authority says the harbor expansion needs about $100 million in funding per year to remain on schedule.
Like other East Coast ports, Savannah is racing for deeper water to accommodate larger cargo ships arriving through the expanded Panama Canal. Though the big ships can’t carry full loads at low tides, they are already doing business at the Port of Savannah, where cargo volumes topped 4 million container units for the first time last year.
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