Illinois pledges $40 million to construct new Alexander-Cairo port

Illinois will provide $40 million through the Rebuild Illinois capital plan toward a public-private partnership that will construct a new inland port in Cairo at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, Gov. JB Prtizker announced yesterday.

The state immediately will grant $4 million to the Alexander-Cairo Port District to fund final engineering, permitting and site preparation for the new port, state officials said in a press release.

The Alexander-Cairo Port has been in development for years and represents one of the largest investments in southern Illinois in decades. It will position Cairo as a national hub for the U.S. shipping and logistics industry, they said.

Currently, the Cairo site is served by three major interstate highways and a CN rail line. About 80 percent of all inland barge traffic in the U.S. passes Cairo every year.

Port district officials are in discussion with several private investors interested in providing funding to complement the state investment. The release of state funding will enable the port district to accelerate efforts to finalize construction funding and recruit new business partners, state officials said.

"Rebuild Illinois is really about investing in the long-term economic success of our state — and this port project has the potential to represent the very best of our state's future," said Pritzker. "This will lift up farmers and industry across the region."