Economic Feasibility for the Construction and Operation of a Public Barge Terminal at Fayetteville, North Carolina

摘要

The study reported herein was conducted at the request of the North Carolina State Ports Authority, the Fayetteville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Administration, U. S. Department of Commerce. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the construction and subsequent operation of a public barge terminal at an available site on the west bank of the Cape Fear River below the City of Fayetteville could be expected to result in an economically viable project. The research scope was designed to provide findings in terms of (1) the direct cost-benefit situation for the terminal itself and (2) the prospective regional socioeconomic impact which might result from the availability of a public terminal, specifically as applicable to new employment and industrial diversification opportunities. The ideas underlying the proposed terminal are not new. They have been investigated in varying degrees of depth in past years. Importantly, in 1959 a study was conducted by professional consultants which resulted in generally negative findings. While in that study, as in others, it was recognized that the prospective availability of water transport can have a substantial influence upon the industrial and commercial development of the Fayetteville area, the traffic potential for the near term future was found to be inadequate to support the costs of terminal construction and operation.