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The North Carolina Council of State on Tuesday approved a lease that will enable public-private partners to construct a cold storage facility at the Port of Wilmington.

The North Carolina State Ports Authority and USA Investco plan to build a $13 million cold storage facility for near-vessel storage of imported and exported fruits and vegetables, meat and other agriculture products. The 75,000-square-foot facility is designed to be expandable to 300,000 square feet.

The facility will generate substantial savings for the state's agriculture industry by reducing logistics costs to and from ports, state officials said in a prepared statement. Farmers could use the Wilmington port instead of neighboring facilities in Norfolk, Va., Savannah, Ga, and Charleston, S.C. The Wilmington port is served by CSX Transportation and the Wilmington Terminal Railroad, which provides terminal switching services.

"North Carolina exports more than $3 billion worth of agricultural products each year. Upgrades to the Port at Wilmington will help our farmers and agribusinesses boost that number even higher," said North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. "The cold storage facility is a vital piece of infrastructure that our producers have needed for a long time."