Biden Renews Call for Seaport Expansions

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DALLAS — Vice President Joe Biden used Monday's visit to the Port of Houston to renew the Obama administration's proposal for a $50 billion infrastructure renewal program, with an emphasis on seaport projects.

"Infrastructure matters and seaports matter the most," Biden said during a stop at the Texas port.

The proposed $50 billion Fix It First effort could generate 650,000 new jobs, Biden said, but the economy will be hampered if U.S. seaports cannot accommodate the larger ships capable of transiting the wider and deeper Panama Canal.

Biden is leading a delegation of federal and local officials to Panama to view progress on the $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal, which first opened to sea traffic in 1914. The project is to be operational in 2015.

The modernized canal will feature a third set of locks and deeper channels to handle container ships 200 feet longer and 60 feet wider than current vessels, with at least twice the cargo capacity.

"Things are changing, folks," Biden said. "The U.S. has the potential to expand exports exponentially."

Without modernized ports, he said, U.S. manufacturers will move operations to where shipping costs are lower.

The federal government can help the seaport projects get under way, Biden said, but most of the funding must come from local and state governments, and private partners.

"The national government can provide seed money for public and private investments," he said. "Every $1.00 of federal funding can generate at least $8.00 in investments."

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has estimated that it would cost $3 billion to $5 billion to dredge and expand cargo handling facilities at Gulf of Mexico and East Coast ports to handle the large vessels.

Port of Houston Authority commissioners last year adopted a five-year improvement program that calls for $1 billion of capital spending through 2017. The authority expects to invest up to $3 billion in infrastructure and capital expansion projects over the next 10 to 15 years to support projected growth at the Houston port.

Current debt plans include tapping a $300 million revolving credit facility in 2014 and issuing general obligation bonds in fiscal 2016. The Port of Houston Authority's $732 million of outstanding general obligation debt is rated triple-A by Fitch and Standard & Poor's.

Miami-Dade County sold $382.7 million of seaport revenue bonds in September that included $276.8 million to expand the Port of Miami for the larger container vessels. Funding for the port's Panama Canal-related five-year, $977 million capital program includes $100 million of GO bonds issued by the county for a seaport tunnel.

The big container ships can currently berth at several ports on the West Coast, including Los Angeles, Oakland, and Seattle.

Expansion projects also are under way at ports in Baltimore, New York, and Savannah, Ga.

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Infrastructure Transportation industry Washington Texas
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