The S.C. State Ports Authority followed through on its promise to provide $3 million Tuesday for studies related to developing the Jasper Ocean Terminal.
The Jasper Ocean Terminal is the jointly owned, Georgia-South Carolina shipping terminal to be built on 1,518 acres on the Jasper County side of the Savannah River.
The Ports Authority authorized $3 million to pay for feasibility and easement studies, among others, under the purview of the Joint Project Office, the group that directs the logistics of the Jasper Ocean Terminal development. Preliminary market studies released last month by the Joint Project Office estimate the port's potential economic impact to be $2.3 billion in 30 years.
The funding approved Tuesday by the Ports Authority was outlined in a January intergovernmental agreement, signed by Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, that directed the development, funding and control of the proposed port. Under the agreement, each state's ports authority will contribute half of the Joint Project Office's costs.
"This is simply a reaffirmation of that funding," said Joint Project Office vice chairman Bill Bethea Jr. "As the ports authorities are the Joint Project Office's sole funding, we rely on that to be able to do those studies to accomplish our assigned objective."
This marks the second major financial investment the Ports Authority has made toward the effort. The first came in July, when the Ports Authority put up half of the $7.59 million purchase price of land for the port from the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The money approved Tuesday will be used to pay for studies needed to relocate a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers perpetual spoil easement on the port site. The Corps of Engineers uses the site to dump dredge spoil from the Savannah River.
The Joint Project Office staff meets in Charleston today to determine specifics about how the $3 million will be spent. Bethea said the office also plans to select a contractor to oversee preliminary studies.
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