Obama signs water projects bill to fund port deepening

[WASHINGTON] US President Barack Obama signed into law a US$12.3 billion water-projects plan that will pay for deepening ports for bigger ships, cutting costs for exporters.

The law is the first water infrastructure bill since 2007 and authorises 34 projects including dredging, flood control, hurricane recovery and environmental restoration. A key part of it is funding the dredging of US ports to accommodate bigger ships being built to pass through the expanded Panama Canal.

"World class infrastructure is one of the reasons America became a superpower in the first place," Mr Obama said. He urged lawmakers to follow up the water-projects legislation with action on a surface-transportation funding bill.