Officials: New port, Western Orangeburg County Industrial Park will mean growth for county

Sen. Brad Hutto, an Orangeburg Democrat, said the state’s new port, which will be built in Jasper County in partnership with the state of Georgia, is slated to be completed by mid-2020. He said the new facility will be a major economic boon for South Carolina.

The first phase of the new terminal, to be built on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River about 10 miles upriver from Savannah Harbor, will have two berths with a 55-foot depth that can handle ships carrying as many as 20,000 cargo boxes — about 6,000 more cargo boxes than the ports in Charleston and Savannah.

Hutto said Orangeburg County will have access to the new port straight down U.S. 321/Savannah Highway.

“That port is going to create a million jobs. It’s going to create tremendous growth in South Carolina,” he said.

Schools in the county need to focus on S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) to prepare for this growth and the anticipated new industrial jobs, Hutto said.

While the population of South Carolina has increased greatly over the past decade, Orangeburg County has stayed the same and Bamberg and Allendale counties have actually lost population, the lawmaker said.

“Part of it is how we adapt to growth in South Carolina,” Hutto said. “Change is coming. Change is good. Change is our future, and we’ve got to be ready for it.”

Orangeburg County Development Commission Executive Director Gregg Robinson spoke highly of the Cities Mean Business Reception and the efforts being made at the Western Orangeburg County Industrial Park.

“I wish we had this positive attention throughout the state for economic development,” he said.

Robinson noted that U.S. 321 is being widened for the industrial park in Neeses to create a four-lane highway all the way to Interstate 26 East. He encouraged people to pass the word about the Western Orangeburg County Industrial Park on to industries from other areas.

“Everyone in this place knows someone who could be looking (for an industrial location),” Robinson said.

The park is already a South Carolina-certified property and will receive Palmetto site certification by the end of November, he said.