On Tuesday morning, the S.C. State Ports Authority approved the purchase of land on the Savannah River in Jasper County that eventually will be a port terminal run by South Carolina and Georgia. It's a long-awaited a step forward in the years-long battle over opening a cargo terminal at the site. That essentially ended last November when the two states' governors announced a joint project.
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Parties from South Carolina and Georgia are expected to meet next month to start determining specifics about the terminal, but what this means, along with Georgia's passing of a similar agreement, is that the two states will share the cost of the land and are really moving forward in the port deal.
From the Charleston Regional Business Journal:
“Obviously, the joint resolution between the two states kicked this project off, but this is really the first tangible transfer of assets between the two states, and it really begins the real process of the longer-range plan to build a port in Jasper County,” SPA board Chairman David Posek said.
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The two state ports authorities plan to split the price of the land for the terminal, at about $5,000 an acre, or roughly $7.6 million. The Georgia DOT will retain ownership over the majority of the 10,000 acres it owns on the largely undeveloped side of the river.
From The Post and Courier:
A group called the Jasper Ocean Terminal Joint Project Office, which formed to move the project forward, will meet in the coming weeks to plan the next steps, Posek said. After the unanimous decision to approve the acquisition, he congratulated the SPA board.
