Officials say $500M in infrastructure projects are needed for Jasper port. What’s the hold up?
Jasper County leaders are requesting state funding for projects to prepare the region for the long-awaited Jasper Ocean Terminal despite an agreement between the county and Georgia Ports Authority not yet being approved, the recent county news release said.
The proposed Jasper port would be an international shipping facility on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River that’s 13 miles closer to the Atlantic Ocean than the Savannah port that was recently deepened. Once built, the 1,500-acre terminal is expected to handle seven million cargo containers per year.
The Jasper port development was previously a partnership between the S.C. State Ports Authority and the Georgia Ports Authority, but South Carolina relinquished its half last year in hopes of Jasper County taking over.
That proposed agreement has yet to be approved, but Jasper County officials have already been working with the Georgia Ports Authority to “identify infrastructure projects needed not only to support the new ocean terminal, but to also enhance the economic development opportunities in South Carolina on the Highway 17 corridor,” the release said.
Multiple projects are already in the works, including the widening of Highway 17 near the state line and the construction of warehousing and distribution centers “but much more is needed to capitalize on the opportunities,” Jasper County Council chairperson Barbara Clark said, adding the county has been working with the Georgia Ports Authority since February 2021.
Estimates, according to the release, call for about $500 million in infrastructure needs which include a $55 million railway expansion, $100 million in roadway improvements, and $99.5 million in utility work. More than half of the estimate is for a $235 million in improvements to the railway in Chatham County, Georgia.
The costs solely cover construction and would be specified in the joint venture agreement still being reviewed by both entities.
“We are seeing progress,” she said. “Leaders in both states talk about needing the Jasper Ocean Terminal starting around 2030, so we already are running tight to get the necessary roads and railways engineered and built.”
Jasper County Administrator Andrew Fulghum agreed progress was being made but officials need to talk to the legislature about funding infrastructure improvements “to help this entire region.”
In addition to the U.S. 17 project, other infrastructure work is being done in the now-booming southern parts of Jasper County including a the planned addition of Exit 3 on I-95 in Hardeeville and expansion of the Ridgeland-Claude Dean Airport to enable it to accommodate business jets.
“With the permitting, the environmental reviews and the engineering involved in the railway, utility and road infrastructure, it is essential that we get the state to fund the work now,” Fulghum said. “The year 2030 seems a long ways away, but it’s sneaking up faster than we think.”
