The players in South Carolina's attempt to build a port in Jasper County continue to bicker about small issues while Georgia officials hit grand-slam business deals, attracting jobs and wealth.

Jasper County officials complained last week that the S.C. State Ports Authority may be obtaining information unethically from a North Carolina company that previously was paid by SSA Marine -- a partner with Jasper County in a plan to build a container port on the Savannah River -- for the same information.

The Ports Authority acknowledges that the reason it signed a $330,000 contract with S&ME of Raleigh was that the company said it would give the information to the authority. That seems like a plan to get the project moving faster.

Jasper officials have said that about 90,000 jobs could be available in years to come after the port is built and operational.

In the meantime, other ports in the South Atlantic region are capitalizing on the expanding Asian shipping business, and South Carolina is missing the boat because officials continue to battle each other instead of presenting a unified plan.

The Wall Street Journal reported a year ago that the Port of Savannah was bulging with Asian cargo. In 2004, the port processed 1.7 million cargo containers, more than triple the business of 1994. Last year Savannah was second among East Coast ports in attracting cargo from Asia, trailing only the Port of New York and New Jersey. The Savannah port was 10th-busiest overall in North America. During fiscal year 2006, the port had a 15.6 percent increase in business over the previous year.

A University of Georgia study showed that Savannah's port generated 120,000 jobs ranging from $25,000 a year for warehouse employees to $120,000 for dockworkers. The Journal reported that cargo funneled through the port produces an estimated $1.4 billion a year in state and local taxes.

Instead of South Carolina officials fighting themselves, it is time for a unified game plan. Instead watching boats and their business dock at a port in another state, it's time to give the ships a welcome and a berth in Jasper County. It is time to put this port on the fast track.