Potential Fourth Port Exploration Continues

By Dan McGowan | Inside INdiana Business

Indianapolis -

The chief executive officer of the Ports of Indiana says the proposed location of a fourth state port would connect Indiana to the only major metropolitan area not already covered by the system: Greater Cincinnati. He says the former American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) property is undergoing a rigorous vetting and inspection process and Rich Cooper says the former Tanners Creek coal power plant site in Lawrenceburg is the best location right now. During an interview last weekend on Inside INdiana Business Television, Cooper explained the upside and challenges of the project Governor Mike Pence said should be "vigorously explored." 

Cooper says other locations along the Ohio River in southeast Indiana were scoped out, but the site that was once home to the largest power-generating facility in the American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) fleet, stood out. It was built in the in the early-1960s, decommissioned last year and was fed exclusively by barges. Cooper calls the property "very appealing to us" and says it is well-connected to rail lines.

He says the southeast corridor is favored over a second in the northwest part of the state, because the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor possesses plenty of capacity. If selected, the Dearborn County location would be the third Hoosier port on the Ohio River.

The statewide organization is one of the hosts of next week's Indiana Logistics Summit in Indianapolis. Cooper says for the first time, engineers and supply chain professionals could be eligible for continuing education credits for attending the event.