VIDALIA — Gov. Bobby Jindal announced Thursday the approval of $5 million in additional funding for Vidalia port and levee construction.

The funds are broken into two projects, $4 million for the construction of Vidalia’s slackwater port and $1 million for a levee-raising project, Jindal said at the announcement in Vidalia.

Adding the $5 million in funding for the port approved by the legislature earlier this year, brings the state’s investment in the Vidalia port $10 million, Jindal said.

“We love the Mississippi River,” he said. “It is a beautiful place to live, but it also connects us to the rest of the country.”

The 40-acre port facility has already seen some road construction, but lacks actual port facilities for the anchoring, loading and unloading of barges. The total projected cost for all phases of the port is approximately $39 million.

Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland said with the funding now secure, he hopes the city can have bid packages for construction out and possibly awarded within four months.

Copeland said he believes the construction will ultimately kick off a $20 million phase, and the city will be able to secure the rest of the funding in the next three years.

Businesses already located in the Vidalia industrial park and those committed to coming have expressed interest in being able to expand their contracts with customers due to the news, Copeland said, and having port facilities opens the possibility of recruiting petrochemical companies to the 2,000 acres in available land adjacent to the port.

“This is going to be a rolling factor for us to recruit new industry,” he said. “I have been mayor for 20 years, and this is some of the biggest news we have ever gotten.”

One in five Louisiana jobs are dependent on a local port authority, and port activity supports 396,000 jobs, Jindal said.

“For every dollar we invest in port projects, the state receives $6 in return,” he said.

Rep. Andy Anders, D-Clayton, said this year’s cotton harvest was one of the best he’s seen since he started farming in the 1970s, and not having a Concordia Parish port was a missed opportunity.

“We had the most bountiful year in agriculture, and all that seed had to be loaded onto trucks and sent out of here,” Anders said. “With the port, we can load it up here and send it all over the country.”

The levee project will help raise the level of protection for business and homes, Jindal said.

“Whether it is to fight floods or to welcome jobs, we have some of the most resilient people in the world (in Louisiana),” he said. “(This money) will mean more jobs thanks to the port and more opportunity for our folks thanks to the levee protection.”

Copeland thanked the governor, state legislators and Concordia Parish Industrial and Economic Development District Director Heather Malone for the funding, and said the area’s success is due to all members of the community.

“I have always been asked what separates this community from other communities, and it is our people,” he said.