WASHINGTON: The S.C. Ports Authority plans to spend $2.2 million for upgrades and expansion of the Inland Port in Greer to help meet the needs of growing companies like BMW and Michelin. The Ports Authority board on June 14 passed a $226 million budget for fiscal year 2017 that forecasts a 23 percent increase in container volume at the inland port. Over the past year, volume at the inland port exceeded projections by 62.3 percent.
“It’s been an overwhelming success,” Spartanburg County Councilman David Britt said of the inland port, which opened in 2013. Britt is chairman of council’s economic development committee. “It’s very prudent for them to get the ball rolling,” he said. “This is what we hoped would happen. ‘Build it and they will come.’ And boy are they coming.” The authority’s budget includes $1.6 million for the fiscal year that begins July 1, plus another $600,000 for infrastructure improvements the following year, Ports Authority spokeswoman Erin Dhand said.
A study is underway to determine the port’s output and potential growth, she said. The results are expected later this year. “There is a potential for expansion,” Dhand said. “When it takes place, we don’t know yet.” She said cargo volume at the inland port has been steadily increasing since it opened. “We don’t expect that to stop,” Dhand said. “We expect to see continued growth.” The expansion of the inland port was first discussed last fall by Ports Authority leaders. The port uses roughly 40 acres of a 100-acre site on International Commerce Boulevard off Interstate 85 and near Highway 101.
