Posted on Sat, Jun. 17, 2006

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Ports authority approves $154 million budget plan

By JAMES D. McWILLIAMS

jmcwilliams@thestate.com

The S.C. State Ports Authority approved a two-year, $154 million capital-spending plan this week. The plan will pay for the first major expansion of state ports since April 1995.

Expansion is necessary because twice as much cargo moves through the port now as did shortly after that last expansion, said spokesman Byron D. Miller.

The ports moved 1 million shipping-container units in 1996, and about 2 million in 2005, Miller said. The authority expects 8.5-percent growth in container volume during the next fiscal year.

The ports already handle the fourth-largest container volume in the nation, and the second-largest of any ports on the East Coast or Gulf Coast states, Miller said.

Thus, the authority plans to expand the port at the former Charleston Navy Base and to do port development on the Savannah River in Jasper County. The Jasper County development alone will cost $1.6 million, and the authority also has ordered $64 million in new equipment.

The authority also will add 16 jobs, bringing total employment to 619 people.

The ports authority won’t need tax money to cover such spending, but will pay for the projects with earnings, independent borrowing (via nonpublic revenue bonds) and cash, Miller said.

The authority expects to issue $100 million in bonds, backed by ports’ revenues, during the next year, Miller said.

“Our state’s public port system has a reputation for standing on its own two feet,” said chairman Bill H. Stern. “The state’s taxpayers have all the benefits, without the costs.”

The ports authority has not received public subsidies for its operating expenses since the 1950s or received such subsidies for capital expenses since 1979, Miller said.

The ports authority expects $165.3 million in operating revenue for fiscal 2007, which begins July 1. That amount would be up almost 10 percent from fiscal 2006, in which the authority is spending $150.7 million, Miller said.

Reach McWilliams at (803) 771-8308.