PORT ROYAL - Town officials are excited about the possibilities for their riverfront if the State Ports Authority follows up with the governor's suggestion to close the small port here.

Port Royal Mayor Sam Murray said Friday the town plans to use a private consultant along with representatives from the county and area residents to create a plan for future development on the 22-acre property.

Murray said he wants the port to become a "positive economic vehicle for the town and the county."

During state budget hearings Thursday, Gov. Mark Sanford called for the ports authority to close the local port, which attracts about 20 ships a year and lost $58,000 last year.

The port of Charleston handles more cargo in a week than Port Royal does in a year.

"I would ask that, given where it is, we look at how quickly we can close it," Sanford said. "Essentially we're losing money on it. Essentially its a noncore business. Rather than going through studies the next year and a half, let's look at it on an expedited basis."

The governor said the land should either be sold outright or used as part of a joint venture between the state and a private developer.

Port Royal Town Councilman Vernon DeLoach said closing the port is well overdue.

"Why do we have the port if all we're going to get is the dust and the noise," he said. "It's time to close it."

Closing the port would require an act of the General Assembly, and Rep. Catherine Ceips, R-Beaufort, said she's been working on drafting the legislation.

"Not only is this port not efficiently spending taxpayer dollars at the state level, its very presence is in fact holding the town back," she said. "I think it will be an economic boon for that area."

Georgetown is the site of the state's third port, but it has been consistently making money in recent years.