Alabama
Latest Coverage
See all articles
Tommy Tuberville gets a look at Alabama Port Authority finances, growth
The Alabama Port Authority board welcomed a special guest to its monthly meeting Thursday, Senator and Alabama gubernatorial candidate Tommy Tuberville.
Port Authority officials said that Tuberville had dropped in for the meeting and that his attendance was not part of a larger port tour. Tuberville did not speak during the meeting or take questions afterward.
As was the case in July, the report from Alabama Port Authority director and CEO Doug Otto was full of good news: For the current fiscal year, which concludes at the end of September, the port authority is well ahead of both last year’s performance and this year’s budget.
“July revenue finished at $19.4 million, which is $1.3 million better than budget,” Otto said. “The year-to-date total was $23.4 million better than planned, $38.4 million better than the prior year.”
As he did in July, Otto cited exports through the McDuffie Island Coal Terminal, imports through the Pinto Island Steel Terminal, and traffic handled by the port’s railroad as major drivers.
With Tuberville on hand, Otto expanded his presentation to provide an overview of the extensive roster of capital improvements under way at the Port of Mobile. These projects total hundreds of millions of dollars and include new coal-handling equipment at McDuffie, programs to expand the capacity of the APM Terminals container terminal, and the replacement or refurbishment of docks dating back to the 1940s or earlier.
Otto also touched on developments such as the establishment of a Montgomery terminal to handle shipping containers coming from the port by rail and a plan to use dredged spoil to restore marshland in upper Mobile Bay.
As he did so, Otto also described the extensive array of federal and state allocations funding much of the work. Afterward, he said he appreciated the opportunity to show Tuberville what was being done with the grants and appropriations flowing into the port.
“So much of what we do, we’re dependent on federal and state dollars and that partnership,” said Otto. “We need him. Not just him, our congressional delegation.”