WILMINGTON, N.C. HARBOR DEEPENING PROJECT GETS $40 MILLION

WILMINGTON, N.C. HARBOR DEEPENING PROJECT GETS $40 MILLION    U.S. Congress has approved in the federal fiscal year 2003 budget $40 million in additional funds for the project to deepen the Wilmington, N.C. harbor.
   The project, in its seventh year, will deepen the Cape Fear River navigation channel from 38 feet to 42 feet to the Port of Wilmington by December.
   'The 42-foot channel should immediately increase our current container carriers' volumes by 15 percent and expand cargo throughput growth in all lines of port business,' said Erik Stromberg, executive director of the North Carolina State Ports Authority. 'The U.S. Army Corps. Of Engineers estimates $34 million annually in net benefits as a result of the project.'