Lawmakers OK $350M million bond plan for Port of Virginia

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - State lawmakers have signed off on a $350 million bond package to boost capacity at the port of Virginia.

Transportation Secretary Aubrey Lane tells The Virginian-Pilot (bit.ly/250ZNOr) that the move is “huge for the commonwealth of Virginia and the port.”

The state-backed bond deal is aimed at allowing Norfolk International Terminals to handle 696,000 more standard 20-foot containers by 2019. The terminal can currently hold about 1.4 million 20-foot containers a year.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe still has to approve the plan, but is expected to.

The General Assembly’s approval of the plan follows a dramatic financial turnaround for the port. In July, McAuliffe announced that the Virginia Port Authority reported a profit for the first time in seven years.

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Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, https://pilotonline.com