SC doesn’t have $5 billion for Jasper port. But that isn’t what is stalling it, some say

If the Jasper County port project is not built, some said it would be an insult to the memory of the late Democratic state Sen. Clementa Pinckney.

Plans for the Jasper Ocean Terminal have sat unused for a decade, with some state lawmakers blaming politics for the lack of progress.

State Sen. Tom Davis hopes to revive the effort to build the new port when lawmakers return to Columbia in January.

The Beaufort Republican said he plans to ask S.C. budget writers for more money for the project, estimated to cost $5 billion. Thus far, Davis said lawmakers have put less than $10 million toward the port’s permitting costs and nothing toward its infrastructure.

“We’re talking about economic development for some of the poorest portions of our state,” Davis said in a Monday conference call.

During that call, about 15 state lawmakers expressed frustration that the Jasper project may not be completed for another 20 years. (Reporters were not allowed to ask questions on the call.)

One state lawmaker said not building the port would be an insult to Pinckney, who advocated for the project until his murder in 2015.

In March, the S.C. Ports Authority said the Jasper Port terminal — a joint project between South Carolina and Georgia — may not be needed until at least 2035, based on cargo capacity estimates for existing ports in Charleston and Savannah.

Jasper’s supporters had hoped the project’s first phase would be finished by 2025.

“It really came as a shock to all of us,” state Rep. Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort, said of the 2035 date.

Davis said the 2035 date also surprised Georgia Ports Authority officials, who, as a result, have started looking for alternatives to bring cargo in, including the Savannah River’s Hutchinson Island.

However, Jim Newsome, head of the S.C. Ports Authority, said Monday completion of a new port will depend on when it is needed.

“The timing of the Jasper Ocean Terminal — which will be the largest container terminal ever to be constructed in the U.S. — is dependent upon market demand and existing and permitted port capacity of both South Carolina and Georgia,” he said.

“The most important work to be completed (next) term is the assessment of road and rail infrastructure necessary for accessing the terminal, which is the focus of a work plan for the current fiscal year.”

State Rep. Weston Newton, R-Beaufort, said Monday it would be a good idea if Republican Govs. Henry McMaster and Nathan Deal of Georgia united to make sure the Jasper project moves forward, just as then-Govs. Mark Sanford and Sonny Purdue of Georgia did a decade ago.

“It might be beneficial if the current governors renewed the vows.”

This story was originally published July 23, 2018 at 6:39 PM.