Upgrade planned for Port of Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Dirt and patches of grass cover a mostly unused land on a corner of the Port of Philadelphia. The South Port Development project is about to finally get a purpose.

"I want this to be a place that creates good jobs. I want this to be a place to get the economy of Southeastern Pennsylvania moving even faster than it is right now. I'm willing to wait and see what the best offer is," Wolf said.

The Delaware River dredging project is almost done making the river deeper and able to welcome in bigger ships and more business.

"It means jobs. It means economic opportunities for Pennsylvania and for Philadelphia," State Senator Larry Farnese said.

The Port Authority is now accepting applications for businesses who'd like to partner with them here. Businesses have about two more weeks to submit their application as the deadline is November 18th.

It will mark the first major expansion of the Port of Philadelphia in generations.

"When we are done here we are going to be in competition with New York and I think also with the world ports because of what we are going to be able to do here, what we're going to be able to export here, our relative proximity to rail, to freight, to air," Farnese said.

So far the port has gotten a lot of interest. The businesses range from containers, automobiles, energy, as well as warehousing and distribution.

The early estimates call for anywhere from 500 to 3,700 new jobs making $40,000 to $80,000 a year with full benefits and a pension.

"It's a good living and it's unskilled. It's important to understand that. Not everybody goes to college today," Shawn Doughtery of Teamsters Local said.