City of Montgomery calls incoming inland port facility an economic game changer

In what the City of Montgomery calls an economic game changer for the Central Alabama region, a multimillion dollar port facility is coming to Montgomery.

An over $2 million purchase for about 300 acres of land in West Montgomery was made to build a new inland terminal to serve traffic from the port of Mobile. The facility will be located off of U.S. Highway 31 near Southlawn Middle School.

The terminal will hold bigger freight, serving customers like the recently announced Amazon distribution center and the Hyundai plant. The port authority says the project will generate more than 2500 jobs, over $300 million in business revenues, and more than $14 million in state and local taxes.

The City of Montgomery thinks this will create a ripple effect to seeing more investment in not just West Montgomery but the city and state as a whole.

“To be a gateway for global growth and commerce is something that doesn’t come along every day or even every year,” Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said. “Part of what we are doing is trying to position this city and region as a place where manufacturers can look where they know there is great talent, a low cost of doing business, and they can create maximum output and profit.”

The first phase of the facility could take up to two years and cost more than $50 million to complete.