By : Jacob Geiger
Source : http://www2.godanriver.com
Category : Small Business Grant
Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton said the state wants to create an economic development zone that could draw additional business to Virginia's ports, including Richmond.
Connaughton, who spoke Wednesday at a regional breakfast meeting of the Greater Richmond Chamber, said the zone would stretch from Hampton Roads through Southside and the Virginia Peninsula, terminating in the Richmond region.
"One reason for Savannah (Ga.)'s success as a port is that they built an economic zone aimed at distribution and logistics providers from the port to the interstate," he said. "When you get the distribution centers, you get the cargo."
Connaughton, who called Savannah the biggest competitor to Virginia's port system, said Gov. Bob McDonnell might amend House Bill 1183 in the coming weeks to include specific tax credits and grants for the new development zone. That would let the General Assembly consider the measure at its veto session in mid-April.
The bill, which passed both chambers by wide margins, requires the governor to make recommendations by Dec. 1 about specifics of tax credits and grants for the economic development zone. But rather than wait, the governor is considering providing those specifics now as part of an amendment.
If the recommendations are not ready for the veto session, they would be considered during next year's legislative session.
Under the proposal, logistics and distribution companies with operations within the development zone would be able to apply for a mix of tax credits and grants.
The bill also extends existing tax credits for the Virginia Port Authority and creates a Port Opportunity Fund for marketing the Port of Virginia and expanding the use of Port Authority facilities.
The transportation secretary also said the Port Authority is working to expand barge traffic between the main port terminals in Hampton Roads and the Port of Richmond.
The local port currently handles 6,000 shipping containers per year. Connaughton hopes the Richmond port will hit a rate of 8,000 boxes per year by the end of 2012 and see an increase from the two barges per week that currently visit Richmond.
The barge service takes about 12,000 truck trips a year off Interstate 64, according to the Port Authority. Besides easing road traffic, the service helps reduce fuel consumption, emissions and wear-and-tear on the roads.
Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones's proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 would spend $2 million to create an industrial park and improve rail service along Interstate 95 and Deepwater Terminal Road near the port, with an additional $9 million from the state and federal governments for the project.
Connaughton said several large shipping companies are looking at expanding their service to Richmond and have asked the state about repairing an inactive rail spur that runs from the port to major rail lines.
The transportation secretary said it's too early to tell how much it might cost to reopen the spur. He also said there are no specific plans on who would cover those costs.
Connaughton said expanding the Richmond port and building a new U.S. 460 are far cheaper than widening I-64. The widening project from Interstate 295 to Newport News would cost about $3 billion.
The U.S. 460 project envisions building a four-lane, divided, limited-access highway from I-295 in Prince George County to the U.S. 58 Bypass in Suffolk, with the road running south of the existing U.S. 460. The new route is projected to cost $1.6 billion.
Adding another tunnel to connect South Hampton Roads and the Peninsula would cost billions more.
"Interstate 85 is the key to unlocking this economic engine, because it reaches down to new manufacturing centers in North Carolina and South Carolina," Connaughton said. "That's why we're pushing the new (Route) 460 — because it offers direct access to I-85."
Access to I-85, I-64 and I-95 was a key reason online retail giant Amazon.com Inc. is building two massive distribution centers in the region, he added.
And Connaughton thinks Richmond's port could one day have an impact on the region similar to the changes brought about by the Virginia Inland Port in Front Royal, near the junction of interstates 66 and 81.
That inland facility — where containers arrive by truck or rail and are then sent via train to Norfolk — handles 40,000 boxes a year. It is surrounded by 39 privately owned distribution centers.
"I think we can do similar things here," Connaughton said of Richmond's port. "The key is determining how all the localities can work together on a unified vision and get moving so the next administration, or the one after that, doesn't re-evaluate that support of the port."
Source : http://www2.godanriver.com/business/2012/mar/22/tdbiz01-incentives-considered-in-economic-developm-ar-1784278/
