SAVANNAH - Georgia officials are fighting to sink a plan to build a proposed $500 million container port in poor, rural Jasper County, S.C., that would compete with a major port in Savannah. <br>
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The state of Georgia, whose booming port facilities in Savannah lie directly across the Savannah River from Jasper County, owns about 1,800 acres of the land on which the port would be built. Jasper County is trying to condemn the property over Georgia's objections. <br>
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Stevedoring Services of America cannot proceed with its plans for the new port until the land ownership lawsuit is settled. The suit could take years and even a trip to the U.S. Supreme Court to settle. <br>
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Henry Moss, 62, Jasper County's administrator, said new industry is desperately needed on his side of the river. <br>
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``We've got the perfect place for (the port), nine miles closer to the ocean than Georgia's container facilities,'' he said. <br>
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Georgia State Sen. Eric Johnson, R-Savannah, said he has mixed feelings about the proposed port. While it would compete with Georgia's, the new port could also provide jobs for people on both sides of the river, he said. <br>
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``Any port there would help economic development in our region, which would be good,'' he said. <br>
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Asas Ashar, an international shipping expert with the National Ports and Waterways Institute at the University of New Orleans, said the proposed port's location could give Savannah a run for its money. <br>
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It would be closer to the ocean, so it would save shippers money, Ashar said. Dredging costs might be lower, too. <br>
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But a new port would have to invest heavily in roads, giant cranes, paving and perhaps a railroad line, he said. Savannah already has those assets, along with major distribution centers. <br>
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Jasper County is one of South Carolina's poorest, according to census figures. More than 25 percent of its 20,678 residents live below the poverty level. The per capita income of $18,719 is almost $10,000 below the national average.
