SC Commerce seeks $150M for Boeing, Volvo projects and high-tech recruitment fund
David Wren — Post and Courier
The S.C. Commerce Department is asking legislators for $150 million to help pay for projects benefiting two major Lowcountry manufacturers and to plan for the needs of businesses that use technologies the Palmetto State isn't yet prepared to support.
The proposed "strategic infrastructure fund" was outlined by agency chief Harry Lightsey during a meeting last week of the House Ways and Means budget subcommittee. It still needs to clear several hurdles, including budget debates in the General Assembly, before it could become a reality.
If it's approved, roughly $70 million of the fund would pay for projects promised years ago to Boeing Co. and Volvo Cars.
That includes $25 million toward the construction of a rail line connecting the Volvo campus at the Camp Hall Commerce Park in Ridgeville to a CSX Corp. transfer station in Cross. The 23-mile line through mostly Berkeley County timberland would be operated by Palmetto Railways, a division of the Commerce Department, and used by Volvo to ship cars — including the S60 sedan and next-generation XC90 SUV — bound for U.S. dealerships.
Design work and rights-of-way purchases have been completed, but construction hasn't started because of a lack of funding.
"They require a rail service at that facility to be at their maximum efficiency," Lightsey told the subcommittee. "We've been designing that for several years, and we're in the process of being ready to start construction."
The train line was one of the promises Commerce made to Volvo to lure the automaker to the Lowcountry in 2015. Federal grants could also help pay for its construction. The line could also be used by tenants at the Camp Hall industrial park, which is being marketed by state-owned utility Santee Cooper.
Another $42 million would go toward relocating the entrance to Charleston International Airport and moving a radar facility off state-owned property that's been promised to Boeing if the planemaker decides to expand its 787 Dreamliner campus in North Charleston. The site would not be ready for expansion until 2027 because the Federal Aviation Administration still has to approve the radar relocation.
"The aerospace industry will rebound, and when it does, South Carolina must be prepared to remain competitive for Boeing’s growth including the potential to add another aircraft model," Commerce said in a document explaining the project.
Lightsey said the fund's remaining $80 million or so would go toward meeting the future needs of businesses considering expanding within or locating to South Carolina.
"As we go through the transformation of many businesses in the next five to 10 years we're going to see technologies like automation and robotics coming into our manufacturing facilities and other technologies like artificial intelligence and genetic engineering in the life sciences area," Lightsey said. Preparing for those technologies will "send a significant signal that South Carolina is embracing the future and is making the investments now to create opportunity down the road."
An example of the type of project that might benefit from the fund, he said, is Google's plan to install underwater fiber-optic cable from Latin America to a hub near Myrtle Beach. The project is expected to improve access to Google services for users in South America, moving internet traffic swiftly between North America and South America.
The infrastructure fund is part of Commerce's 2022-23 budget request totaling about $333 million — more than double its current spending plan.
"Obviously, you have some big requests in here," said Rep. Leon Stavrinakis, a Charleston Democrat who chairs the budget subcommittee. "We'll do our best to meet your needs as you try to meet the needs of our state."
