It shall be the duty of the Authority, on behalf of the Commonwealth, to foster and stimulate the commerce of the ports of the Commonwealth and related facilities by serving as the United States Eastern Seaboard gateway for the global import and export of freight throughout the world, to promote the shipment of freight through the maritime and inland ports, to seek to secure necessary improvements of navigable tidal waters within the Commonwealth, and in general to perform any act or function that may be useful in developing, improving, or increasing the commerce, both foreign and domestic, of all maritime and inland ports of the Commonwealth and related facilities.
Va. Code § 62.1-132.3