Posted on January 30, 2019
Following Gov. Henry McMaster’s pledge to revitalize the Port of Georgetown, state Rep. Carl Anderson is leading a renewed push to secure funding for dredging the port.
At a press conference Sunday, Anderson and state Sen. Ronnie Sabb said they’re forming an ad-hoc committee tasked with promoting the Georgetown port. The legislators were flanked by city and county officials as well as representatives from the Georgetown steel mill.
“Strike while the iron is hot,” Anderson said about the latest effort.
McMaster made his remarks about the Georgetown port during his State of the State address Jan. 23. While talking at length about the state’s commitment to enhancing the Port of Charleston, McMaster said, “This is an enormous competitive advantage, and to it we will add in the years ahead, a revitalized Port of Georgetown and a new Port of Jasper.”
McMaster didn’t give specifics about any plans for the two ports.
Over the past two decades, the Georgetown port has seen its traffic dwindle. In 2014, county voters approved a 1-cent sales tax meant to raise revenue for infrastructure projects, including $6 million to go toward dredging for Georgetown Harbor and the port. But that amount would cover only a fraction of the overall cost of the project — originally estimated at $33 million, but that was several years ago. The figure had ballooned to $66 million, but some officials have questioned that estimate.
The port was last dredged in 2008. The depth for any new dredging was initially set at 27 feet.
On Sunday, Anderson and Sabb said they want the new committee to be made of up local, state and federal officials as well as representatives from the business community. Liberty Steel, the new owner of the Georgetown mill, wants to be able to use barges to transport wire-rod produced at the steel mill.
“We’re going to work with the governor” to see the project come to fruition, Anderson said.
A formal date for the committee to hold its first meeting had not been set as of Monday, but Anderson said he would like to see it happen in the next two or three weeks.
Source: South Strand News
