Key political and business leaders are backing the dredging of the Port of Savannah to make it accessible to larger ships traveling through the Panama Canal.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Home Depot CEO Frank Blake are scheduled to speak Thursday at a panel discussion in Atlanta designed to show support for the project. Port officials want to dredge the Savannah River by six feet, giving it a 48-foot depth, so the port can accommodate the larger cargo freighters expected to pass through the Panama Canal once it's deepened in 2014.

Unless Savannah's port can accommodate those ships bound for the East Coast, Georgia officials fear they will dock elsewhere. A final decision on whether to dredge isn't expected until late next year.

Tags: Home Depot, Panama Canal, Savannah port, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, CEO Frank Blake, dredge, ships