Posted on October 18, 2024
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — The South Carolina Ports Authority faced several challenges throughout the year including a technology failure and an ILA strike.
However,officials say the only way through it was teamwork from their partners.
“When this board is put to the test, we get creative, we get resilient,” said Barbara Melvin, the CEO of the South Carolina Port Authority. “We deliver solutions for our customers and their supply chains. Short-term curve balls do not throw this group off their game and we are poised to make to significantly grow our market share.”
Melvin said they’re obstacles that only made the Ports Authority stronger. Their goals moving into the next year focus on continuous expansion including modernizing the former WestRock paper mill property in North Charleston.
“This 280-acre industrial site sitting adjacent to our North Charleston terminal along the Cooper River allows us to have 5 million TEUs of capacity when combined 5,000 linear feet of birth and more than 400 acres of terminal space for cargo in the future,” Melvin said.
The Ports Authority is also working to protect the environment. More than 3000 acres in South Carolina have been preserved for generations to come.
“Our newest project at King’s Grant Marsh Restoration is on the Ashley River, and it will bring much-needed benefit to that habitat as well. It’s part of the mitigation for the Native Basin Center facility. So, every time we build, we protect, we restore, we preserve,” she said.
The South Carolina Ports Authority supports 1 in 9 jobs in the state while operations generate $87 billion annually.
During the annual State of the Port event, U.S. Rep. James Clyburn (D, S.C.-06) announced $195 million in federal funding. This funding will cover more than half of the costs for realigning the interchange in Mount Pleasant, which will provide the Port of Charleston with a dedicated access road to its busiest cargo terminal.
The funding will go to the Long Point Road and Interstate 526 intersection in Mount Pleasant, which Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie said is now fully funded.
