South Atlantic Terminal
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According to South Carolina State Ports Authority chairman Bill Bethea Jr., the Jasper Ocean Terminal task force is currently putting together a program to determine how the new 1,518-acre facility will be financed and operated. The program will be subject to approval by Congress and the two states' legislatures. The next step toward creating the program, says Bethea, who is also vice chairman of the task force, will be selection of a firm to draft preliminary plans and oversee initial studies. The selection will be made by early November.

In March '07, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue signed an agreement to cooperate on development of the $450 million South Atlantic International Terminal, which is to be built at the mouth of the Savannah River a few miles east of Savannah, along the border of the two states. Under the agreement, the Georgia Department of Transportation consented to sell the port site to the Georgia Port Authority and South Carolina State Ports Authority as equal joint tenants.

The port is expected to open in seven to 10 years. In a recent letter to his constituents, Sanford said the project has reached a point of critical mass politically that should guarantee its progress even after he and Perdue leave office. The project is intended to relieve future pressure and congestion at the rapidly growing ports of Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC. At completion, it will be larger than either of the two existing ports. Charleston's port currently ranks sixth in the US in terms of cargo value, while Savannah is the nation's fourth largest container port and sixth largest automobile port.

Earlier this year, a group of investors led by a Jasper County businessman acquired a 5,000-acre site on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River, with plans to use 2,000 acres for development of an industrial park serving both the new port and the Port of Savannah. Last fall, a subsidiary of Dubai-based Dubai International Capital LLC purchased 1,300 acres in Orangeburg, SC for development of an inland multimodal logistics center that would be approximately equidistant to all three ports.

At the time of the original agreement, a representative for the Georgia governor's office mentioned the planned $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal and related growth in Asia-US shipping as the primary impetus for the new facility. On Oct. 9, the Inter-American Development Bank approved a loan of up to $400 million for the canal expansion. The Panama Canal Authority plans to raise about $2.3 billion in loans to finance the program. The remainder will be covered with cash flow generated by canal operation, which annually handles about 5% of the world's ocean freight.

Instant Insights /

Joint Georgia, S. Carolina Port Could Generate $2.3B Annually

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