The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority is a governmental agency created in 1968 to manage maritime operations at the Port of Cleveland. Its maritime activities help sustain the regional economy in Northeast Ohio by keeping local industries connected to the world and supporting 11,000 jobs that generate $572 million in personal incomes.

In more recent years, the port authority has expanded its role to include identifying opportunities to assist in regional revitalization efforts and to cultivate development finance partnerships. By acting on behalf of a borrowing entity as a conduit issuer of special obligation revenue bonds, the port authority may provide financing for eligible public and private community projects. 

Entities borrow money through, not from, the port authority by using port authority bonds to access the financial markets for the borrowing of capital. The port authority’s development finance activities are self-supporting and operate solely on the revenues generated from financing transactions.

For a complete report of port finances, visit the Auditor of State's Web site. 

Mission Statement
The strategic mission of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority is to assist private industry in retaining and creating jobs by providing waterborne cargo transportation/services and by providing economic development facilitation through financing services and other development tools in partnership with local and state development agencies.

• Maritime Group: provides support to the manufacturing base of the region by supplying transportation services that positively impact the area’s competitiveness.
• Development Finance Group: provides support to the community’s private industry through financing vehicles that enhance the competitiveness of the area.

• Regional Development Group:  The mission of the Regional Development division is to utilize the powers vested in the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority in cooperation with its public and private partners to identify, acquire, remediate and return to productive use those properties and facilities located throughout Cuyahoga County which have been abandoned, blighted and tainted by environmental concerns or otherwise underutilized.