For the N.C. State Ports Authority, fiscal year 2015 and the first months of fiscal year 2016 were noteworthy in several respects.

One positive achievement was the increase in container volume at the Port of Wilmington during FY 2015, which ended June 30.

“We had record-breaking volumes in container movements as well as increases in handled tonnage in the general terminal bulk categories,” ports authority spokesman Cliff Pyron said in early December.

Pyron said the Port of Wilmington moved 297,612 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of container traffic in FY 2015, a record for the organization. He added this volume represented an 18 percent increase over the prior fiscal year, “making us one of the fastest-growing ports on the U.S. East Coast by container volume growth percentage.”

Pyron credits the port authority’s speed, access to transportation networks and emphasis on customer service for the increased traffic. He also noted the ports’ lack of congestion.

The latest studies show that activities at the Port of Wilmington and Port of Morehead City contribute 76,000 jobs statewide and generate $700 million each year in state and local tax revenues, Pyron added.

The year also saw two significant projects launch at the Port of Wilmington: Enviva began construction of its two wood pellet storage domes and USA InvestCo broke ground in early June on its Port of Wilmington Cold Storage facility. The PWCS facility will contain about 3 million cubic feet of space and roughly 11,000 pallet positions, according to PWCS president Chuck McCarthy.

McCarthy said that his company plans to start operations by early May. Enviva is also eyeing a spring start date for its wood pellet operations, according to its officials.

Another major boon for the state ports was the General Assembly’s decision to include a $35 million line item for each year of the state’s 2015-2017 biennial budget, for ports capacity improvement and modernization. Normally, the ports authority does not receive state appropriations, generating most of its own money as a self-sufficient entity.

Inclusion in the state budget marked a needed shift in the approach to funding for ports projects, officials said this fall.

“It’s long overdue,” Sen. Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick) said earlier this year. “Until now, North Carolina was the only state on the East Coast that did not have dedicated revenue to the ports.”

Having those funds in the budget will support the ports authority’s multi-year, extensive infrastructure investment plan, according to Pyron. The plan addresses the ports’ needs in preparing to handle the newest generation of ships that will ply the oceans once the Panama Canal expansion is complete in 2016.

One project critical to stepping up the Port of Wilmington’s capacity is the expansion of its turning basin.

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