Port authority hopes to raise interest in property

In a ceremony Wednesday attended by U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson and several local administrators, the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority unveiled a $500,000 project intended to attract industry to its Scott County port.

The port currently faces a lack of land above flood level. The project will address that need by elevating a 12-acre plot of land adjacent to its slackwater harbor above flood level.

"This project is one of our greatest cooperative efforts," said Emerson. "State, local, and federal government and the private sector are coming together to improve the lives of everyone along the river."

Lone Star Industries, a cement company in Cape Girardeau, is putting up half of the price for the project, as well as donating the material to fill the site. The other half of the cost will come from a $200,000 grant awarded by the Delta Regional Port Authority and $50,000 will be put up by the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority itself.

"Lone Star donated so much of the cost and materials because taking the dirt off that land will allow them to get enough rock to make cement for 100, 150 years," said the port's executive director Dan Overbey. "It's a win-win situation for them and the port."

12-acre patch

Overbey said that 200,000 square yards of dirt will be moved to the 12-acre patch in order to raise it the 20 feet required to bring it above flood level. The cost of the project will come not only from the earth-moving operations, but also from such things as clearing the land and erosion control measures, he said.

"We've reached a plateau here with the amount of land we currently have," said Overbey. "We need more usable sites to be able to continue growing."

Dumey Contracting Inc., of Benton, Mo., was awarded the contract after a competitive bidding period. Engineering contracts were awarded to Bowen Engineering.

"We were very pleased with the bids," said Overbey. "The cost was even better than we'd hoped for."

So far there are no industries lined up to take over the plot, which already has all utilities in place, said Overbey. "You can't really attract industries if you don't have the site ready," he said. "They like to be able to move quickly when they decide to, so they need the site to be ready."

However, Overbey said the port is aggressively looking for industries that might be interested in the site. He said the port is seeking a company that moves a lot of freight, preferably a distribution company, and possibly one that does some manufacturing, as well.

"We'd like to see them move at least a barge or two a week," said Overbey. "That would equal about 100,000-200,000 tons of freight a year."

The port authority expects the project to be completed sometime this fall, and would like to see a company move in within a year. However, Overbey said that finding a company could take up to three or four years.

Plans are also in the works to raise another 18 acres next to the harbor above flood level, said Overbey.

It is estimated that the site will bring 31 direct jobs and 93 indirect jobs to the area, with $3.2 million dollars invested in the local economy.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 226