Congressmen discuss Wilmington Harbor improvements

U.S. Reps. Bill Shuster (R-PA) and David Rouzer (R-NC) met with the North Carolina State Ports Authority at Port Wilmington on Friday to discuss how crucial the Port of Wilmington and Wilmington Harbor are to the economy of North Carolina.

The ports authority is in the process of running a feasibility study about Wilmington Harbor. The purpose is to determine what upgrades on the Cape Fear River will guarantee that the river continues to meet the current demands of the industry.

The ports of North Carolina are some of the most accessible market ports on the East Coast. There are over 170 million Canadian and American consumers, including approximately 60 percent of the retail sales of the U.S. and 65 of the top 100 metropolitan regions of the U.S. within 1,000 miles of the borders of North Carolina.

“This is an exciting time for the authority,” North Carolina State Ports Authority CEO Paul Cozza said. “We’re on pace to have the best year in authority history and we have to continue the positive momentum into fiscal year 2016 by preparing our ports for the future.

“This feasibility study is critical to our competitive future,” Cozza said. “Customers rely on North Carolina’s ports as a congestion-free alternative. We need to ensure that we continue to meet our customer demands.”