FY2014 financial plan, capital spending set for South Carolina ports

The South Carolina Ports Authority's (SCPA) board recently approved a fiscal-year 2014 financial plan, which projects volume increases across business segments and includes $123 million in capital spending.

The capital budget will fund major infrastructure investments, such as a new container terminal at the former Navy Base, new equipment to handle larger ships and facility upgrades. The largest capex item is the South Carolina Inland Port in Greer, S.C., budgeted at $29.1 million in FY2014, SCPA officials said in a press release.

Under construction and slated to open in September, the inland port will be served by Norfolk Southern Railway. The financial plan calls for an increase in personnel, including the addition of 12 workers at the inland port.

The FY2014 plan also projects a nearly 6 percent increase in container volume, primarily because of new weekly services commencing this summer and increased volume from existing services, SCPA officials said in a press release. The plan forecasts a nearly 10 percent increase in breakbulk and non-containerized cargo at the Port of Charleston, and a more than 13 percent boost in volume at the Port of Georgetown, which primarily handles bulk cement and petroleum coke products.

Meanwhile, SCPA's board approved $24.9 million for two new, super post-Panamax cranes for the North Charleston Terminal to replace two cranes built in 1989. The cranes are slated for delivery in summer 2015.