WASHINGTON: Deepening Savannah’s port in order to accommodate larger vessels coming through the Panama Canal will cost 38 percent more and take two years longer to complete than initially expected, according to a key federal agency. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimated that ongoing work to deepen the harbor’s shipping channel from 42 to 47 feet will cost $973 million, or $267 million more than earlier projections. It also said the project is now scheduled to be completed in January 2022. The news is a major setback for a project that’s been in the works for more than a decade and has united Georgia politicians from both parties. Gov. Nathan Deal’s office declined to comment. A corps spokesman said the spike in price can be attributed to “recent increases in the cost of dredging, development of complex designs on unique features and a 24-month timeline extension.”
The spokesman said the two-year delay was in part to accommodate “measures that ensure contracts are awarded fairly and in keeping with the best value to the taxpayer.” “As stewards of federal resources we are committed to taking extra steps in the award process to ensure small businesses and other disadvantaged competitors are fairly considered throughout the bidding process,” the corps stated in a fact sheet posted on its website. “This can increase project duration, especially when there are protests involved.” Griff Lynch, the executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority, acknowledged that “we’re not happy about” the project delay. But in an interview Wednesday he repeatedly emphasized another corps statistic: that even with the cost overrun, the project’s return on investment would actually increase from $5.50 in economic benefits for every dollar spent to $7.30, mainly due to bigger ships being able to come to Savannah without having to wait for the tide.
