Mayor Nutter Wraps Up Trip To Panama
By Tim Jimenez
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Mayor Michael Nutter wrapped up a two-day trip to Panama Tuesday. He was part of a group of lawmakers, led by Vice President Joe Biden, who got a tour of the $5.2 billion project to expand the Panama Canal. It's a project U.S. officials hope provides an economic boost in the billions of dollars for cities along the East Coast.
Shortly after returning last week from a trade trip to England and Israel, Mayor Nutter was invited by Vice President Joe Biden for this short visit to Panama to meet with President Ricardo Martinelli, other top officials in the country, and get a first-hand look at the famous canal's expansion (See Related Story).
The project is expected to double the canal's capacity when completed in 2015. Vice President Biden tells KYW Newsradio it is why he asked Mayor Nutter to come with him.
"It helped me a great deal. I invited (Atlanta's Mayor Kasim Reed and Baltimore's Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake) as well. This could be, over the next five years, multi-billion dollars in the advancement of the U.S. economy on the East Coast," he said.
Biden said that means more jobs for places like the Delaware Valley, which already benefits from its port.
"I would be surprised if most of the people in the Greater Philadelphia area knew that the port of Philadelphia accounted for $3 billion in exports," Biden said.
The expansion of the Panama Canal also means U.S. ports have to improve their capacity as well, to receive even larger container ships that will pass through.
"Philadelphia's Port is well under way in terms of (The Delaware River dredging project.)," Mayor Nutter said. "These ships will be up to 160 feet wide, more than 10,000 containers on some of them. We want much of that business."
City officials say the port is a critical spot along the East Coast for importing perishables, and is a "top-ranked hub for chilled and frozen cargo."
