Port officials have been trying to get the U.S. operating division of A.P. Moller-Maersk, based in Copenhagen, to build a terminal on the North Spit of Coos Bay. Rival sites are in British Columbia and Mexico.
"This is an incredible economic development opportunity not only for my district, but the entire state of Oregon," said Sen. Joanne Verger, D-Coos Bay.
A spending bill that included the Coos Bay project passed with large majorities in each chamber. It sets aside $5 million for the dredging in the first year and promises $55 million more over the next four years if the company commits to the project. It might take five years for studies before dredging could begin.
Verger has said the project could create 300 longshoreman's jobs.
She said company officials are to meet in November to decide on a site.
Port spokesman Martin Callery said the dredging project would deepen the lower end of Coos Bay from 37 to 51 feet and widen the shipping lanes from 300 to 500 feet, along a 7.5-mile stretch from the jetty to Roseburg Forest Product's chipping terminal.
The overall project includes the dredging of the bay, the rehabilitation of Coos Bay's north jetty and a turning basin for the cargo terminal, Callery said.
Port officials remain prohibited by a confidentiality agreement from naming the company - Verger has named it publicly and said its officials were at the legislative session.
Callery said the plan calls for a $250 million to $750 million investment in the terminal, rail infrastructure, a container yard, docks and wharves.
According to company documents, the company needs 275 acres for a multiuser terminal and 4,000 feet of berthing space.
The company seeks a location for an annual capacity of more than 2 million 20-foot-long, standard-size containers - a volume that would eventually rival the Port of Tacoma.
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