Lowndes County Port Authority board members are mulling the feasibility of adding a second port on the Tennesseee-Tombigbee Waterway but discussions are still in the earliest stages, director John Hardy said.
The main reason for the discussion: an increasing shortage of acreage with waterway access that can be can offered to industrial prospects.
Talks around the possibility have mostly been discussed in executive session during port board meetings.
“We’re really trying to make sure we’ve got our ducks in a row and know what we’re doing before it comes out,” Hardy said. “If the Link had a prospect that needed 100 acres, we could not supply it. The biggest site we have is 30 or 40 acres, and we only have one or two of those. The reason that we’re looking for another port is so we would have additional sites to offer.”
Hardy said he could not elaborate on specifics of discussions that have been held.
Lowndes County’s port will be one of the 16 in Mississippi that the Mississippi Department of Transportation will conduct studies on to evaluate port capacities and needs, MDOT officials announced Friday.
The agency will assess marketing needs and economic impact of each inland port and seaport to develop marketing packages tailored to meet each port’s needs and to determine efficiency and identify areas where improvement is needed, Northern Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert said.
“The information gained from these studies will be critical in developing processes to generate new business and create a foundation for future economic growth in Mississippi,” Tagert said in a statement.
Hardy said he and other port directors will soon attend a conference in Jackson where they will find out more details of the studies.
“The study is in support of …possibly seeing if more money from MDOT could be allocated to improve the ports,” Hardy said. “I think (MDOT is) trying to make the ports a good alternative to getting some cargo more on the water and some of it off the road because the water transportation is more environmentally friendly.”
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
