Port of Cincinnati expands geographic area

Port’s statistical boundary will cover 226.5 miles of the Ohio River across 15 counties, including a seven-mile reach of the Licking River.    The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority and the Northern Kentucky Port Authority have received approval from the Army Corps of Engineers to re-designate the Port of Cincinnati to include a larger geographic region.
   The Corps’ Navigation and Civil Works Decision Support Center approved the expansion of the Port of Cincinnati’s statistical boundary from 26 miles to a port district covering 226.5 miles of the Ohio River, including a seven-mile reach of the Licking River, in 15 counties. The geographic region will be called the Ports of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
   The port authorities petitioned for an expanded port boundary in response to the Central Ohio River Business Association (CORBA) advocating for a larger area for the port.
   The port authorities estimate that the Ports of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky will rank among the top 20 U.S. ports by annual freight tonnage and become the second busiest inland U.S. port, as measured by the Corps of Engineers.
   “Securing this re-designation is quite helpful to our region,” said Roger Peterman, chairman of the Northern Kentucky Port Authority, in a statement. “We have such superb resources in the Ohio and Licking rivers, that it behooves us to work cooperatively with the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority and CORBA.”