SPA plans to build container terminal in North Charleston
As the State Ports Authority awaits the go-ahead to build a cargo terminal in North Charleston, planning continues behind the scenes.As part of the preliminary site preparation for the new container terminal, engineers are anticipating the need to demolish about 40 buildings on the former Navy base and tear up miles of unwanted roads and curbs. Demolition will take place during a two-year period, said Joe Bryant, the SPA's vice president of terminal development.
The contractor that will coordinate that job could be named at the agency's March board meeting, but no work will start until all permits for the new terminal are in hand.
The SPA is seeking to build a $600 million cargo terminal on the south end of the former Navy base. A decision by the Army Corps of Engineers, which is reviewing the authority's permit application, is expected in April.
"I feel like that is still on track," Bryant told the SPA board at its monthly meeting Tuesday.
As a condition of its permit, the SPA must have plans approved for mitigating the project's environmental disturbances before the construction can begin.
To that end, the SPA is finalizing a contract for restoring tidal marsh on Drum Island.
That job could be awarded next month, but the work will not begin until the port permit is issued.
The SPA is proposing to spend about $9.6 million on environmental mitigation projects under a plan unveiled last year.
The measures include re-creating marsh lands and restoring more than five miles of oyster reefs in and around Charleston Harbor.
Also Tuesday, the SPA board learned that earnings are down compared to the same period last year. The agency made $29 million through the first seven months of its fiscal year, a 12 percent decline compared to the year-earlier period.
Revenue was up about 1 percent to $89.6 million, while expenses climbed 8 percent to $60 million.
Cargo volume, as measured in increments of 20-foot-long containers, has slid 2.8 percent to 641,000 units since July 1. The SPA's fiscal year ends June 30.
In other business:
--The board awarded a $2 million contract to Myles Construction of Spartanburg to convert 10 acres at the SPA's existing North Charleston terminal for additional container capacity.
--The board also agreed to remodel the traffic entrance and guard house at Veterans Terminal on the former Navy base as part of a security improvement plan. The estimated cost is $400,000.
The Coastal Conservation League is holding a public forum about port expansion at 9 a.m. today at the main Charleston County library at 68 Calhoun St. A panel will discuss concerns about the new terminal proposed for the former Naval Base, including air-quality and transportation issues.
The contractor that will coordinate that job could be named at the agency's March board meeting, but no work will start until all permits for the new terminal are in hand.
The SPA is seeking to build a $600 million cargo terminal on the south end of the former Navy base. A decision by the Army Corps of Engineers, which is reviewing the authority's permit application, is expected in April.
"I feel like that is still on track," Bryant told the SPA board at its monthly meeting Tuesday.
As a condition of its permit, the SPA must have plans approved for mitigating the project's environmental disturbances before the construction can begin.
To that end, the SPA is finalizing a contract for restoring tidal marsh on Drum Island.
That job could be awarded next month, but the work will not begin until the port permit is issued.
The SPA is proposing to spend about $9.6 million on environmental mitigation projects under a plan unveiled last year.
The measures include re-creating marsh lands and restoring more than five miles of oyster reefs in and around Charleston Harbor.
Also Tuesday, the SPA board learned that earnings are down compared to the same period last year. The agency made $29 million through the first seven months of its fiscal year, a 12 percent decline compared to the year-earlier period.
Revenue was up about 1 percent to $89.6 million, while expenses climbed 8 percent to $60 million.
Cargo volume, as measured in increments of 20-foot-long containers, has slid 2.8 percent to 641,000 units since July 1. The SPA's fiscal year ends June 30.
In other business:
--The board awarded a $2 million contract to Myles Construction of Spartanburg to convert 10 acres at the SPA's existing North Charleston terminal for additional container capacity.
--The board also agreed to remodel the traffic entrance and guard house at Veterans Terminal on the former Navy base as part of a security improvement plan. The estimated cost is $400,000.
The Coastal Conservation League is holding a public forum about port expansion at 9 a.m. today at the main Charleston County library at 68 Calhoun St. A panel will discuss concerns about the new terminal proposed for the former Naval Base, including air-quality and transportation issues.