Dubai firm hopes to close on land deal soon, build complex in Orangeburg County

JIM DuPLESSIS
The State.com
Monday October 01, 2007

A Dubai company expects to complete the purchase of 1,300 acres in Orangeburg County in the next several weeks that it hopes to use for a complex of warehouses that could employ 8,000 or more people, a company adviser said Wednesday.

The complex along I-95 would tie loads of cargo arriving and departing from the ports of Charleston and Savannah with customers across the Southeast. The $600 million project would be built by Jafza International, a subsidiary of Dubai World, which is owned by the royal family of Dubai in the Persian Gulf.

Buying the land could be completed as early as next month, said the adviser, who spoke to The State on condition of not being named. All of it will come from land that had been under option by CaroLinks, a Charleston investment group that had planned to build a logistics complex at the site.

“We’re starting the process of buying CaroLinks’ options and interests, so ultimately we will own the land,” the Jafza adviser said.

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, a Democrat who represents most of Orangeburg County, told The Associated Press that based on discussions with local officials, a deal is not done, but “I understand some land closings have taken place in the last couple of days.”

Kara Borie, a spokeswoman for the state Commerce Department, told AP her agency has had talks with Jafza, but referred all comments about any potential investment to the company.

Jafza has said the complex would directly employ 8,000 to 10,000 people after several years, but has not defined how it is counting jobs or how long it would take to reach such a number.

A project that size would dwarf other employers. Orangeburg County’s largest employer is Husqvarna, a 1,900-employee riding lawn mower factory in Orangeburg.

The site is at I-95 and U.S. 301, which allows immediate access to I-95, a major north-south artery, while putting it within a few miles of interstates 26 and 20 to reach destinations farther west.

Orangeburg County has long been trying to entice more industry and distributors. In the past few years, it has concentrated its efforts on improving land at the junctions of I-95, I-26 and U.S. 301 — what it calls its Global Logistics Triangle. Improvements have included the expansion of water and sewer lines to industrial parks there and seeking funding for highway improvements.

Orangeburg County has long had one of the state’s highest jobless rates — 9.1 percent in August — and incomes below average for the state.

Gregg Robinson, executive director of the Orangeburg County Economic Development Commission, wants to change that, and said attracting more industry will be the first step. “By building the industrial base, you build payroll.”

That will mean residents earning more and driving less. More than 6,000 residents drive out of the county every day to their jobs, many working in Columbia or Charleston.

“It gives them an ability to be closer to their families,” he said. “If Mom or Dad is 45 minutes away at work, it’s hard for them to deal with their children.”