Governor Sanford Issues Statement on Approval of Ports Agreement

PORTS AUTHORITY APPROVES BI-STATE AGREEMENT ON DEVELOPMENT OF JASPER PORT

Columbia, SC - December 13, 2007 - Governor Mark Sanford today issued the following statement on the SC Ports Authority’s unanimous approval of a bi-state agreement with Georgia whereby the two states would cooperatively develop a new port on the Savannah River in Jasper County:

“I want to thank the Ports Authority for approving this agreement, which represents a key step forward in moving on with this process,” Gov. Sanford said. “Getting this port built sooner rather than later is important in making sure both South Carolina and Georgia are able to increase port capacity to the level needed to compete in an increasingly globalized economy. We’ll continue working closely with Georgia to make sure progress on this front continues.”

Under the proposed agreement, announced last month by Governors Sanford and Sonny Perdue of Georgia, the Georgia DOT would sell the port site to the states' ports authorities as equal co-tenants, and those ports authorities would jointly form and fund a Joint Project Office to determine the feasibility and best location for the terminal, take the necessary steps to have the existing spoil easement held by the Corps of Engineers released, file for a development permit and develop a business plan.

At the same time the Joint Project Office takes steps to build the terminal, the agreement provides for the Joint Project Office to work with the two states’ legislatures to adopt an interstate compact agreement to form the new entity that will ultimately own the terminal and decide how it is operated. As called for by Gov. Sanford and Gov. Perdue last March, the Joint Project Office will concentrate on ways to use private capital in the construction of the Jasper County terminal to a greater extent than has been used by the two states’ ports authorities in the past.