Posted on January 29, 2019
GEORGETOWN, SC (WCBD) – In his annual state of the state speech this week, Governor Henry McMaster specifically mentioned revitalization of the ports of Georgetown and Jasper in the coming years.
People who live in the area and county leaders say this is welcome news. But they’re cautiously optimistic as far as a timeframe for any sort of revitalization of the Georgetown port.
During the State of the State, Governor McMaster praised recent efforts to deepen the Port of Charleston. He went on to say he wants to see the Georgetown Port revitalized as well.
“This is an enormous competitive advantage, into it we will add in the years ahead a revitalized Port of Georgetown and a new Port of Jasper,” McMaster said during his address.
Georgetown County’s director of economic development, Brian Tucker, said, “Number one it was news to us – we didn’t know that was going to be in the speech. We welcome the reinvigoration. In my 6 1/2 years in Georgetown County, reinvigorating that port has always been the priority and remains a priority for us.”
Tucker says the Corp of Engineers estimated to dredge the river for the port a few years ago was a price tag of about $65 million. But with the dredging, they believe Georgetown would see more jobs and a better economic future.
He says one of the problems right now is time. The longer it takes to begin dredging the harbor, the more expensive dredging work will be. Not only as costs to dredge go up, but also because there will be more silt to dredge.
Source: News2
