THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 25, 1994 TAG: 9410250276
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Gov. George F. Allen, scrambling for something upbeat on the economic front after the loss of the proposed Disney's America theme park, came to Virginia's port region Monday to announce a shipping deal with Columbus, Ohio.
``Regardless of what happened in Haymarket, I would still be here today,'' Allen said when asked to compare the Disney project, which held out the prospect of thousands of jobs in the Prince William County area, with the Ohio partnership.
Allen and Jonathan York, president of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, signed a memorandum of understanding intended to boost cooperative efforts between the Virginia port and the Ohio city's inland port commission in marketing import and export services to manufacturers and shippers.
Allen, at a news conference at Norfolk International Terminals, said 80 percent of the general cargo that comes into the United States is destined for the Midwest.
``What we're doing is getting Virginia's ports linked to America's heartland,'' he said. ``We're in a war of competition with other states and other nations.''
But the governor admitted he didn't know how much cargo traffic would be generated by the agreement or how many jobs it would create. He said the goal was to make the joint venture ``something measurable and something real. . . . All I know, it's going to be very positive.''
``You should not judge this program on a one-year occurrence,'' said Columbus Mayor Gregory Lashutka, who joined Allen, York and Dorothy Teater, president of the Board of Commissioners in Ohio's Franklin County, in making the announcement.
``The ability to move products and services, the ability to move technology and the ability to move people will determine what areas succeed in this country,'' Lashutka said.
The docks in Hampton Roads, among the busiest along the East Coast, handle more than 7 million tons of merchandise a year. Included are imports from and exports to Europe, the Far East and South America.
Columbus created its inland port commission two years ago to tap a market that includes half the nation's population and manufacturing capacity within a 500-mile radius. The Columbus area is served by more than 100 truck lines as well as major railroads like Conrail and Norfolk Southern. by CNB