DILLON, SC – South Carolina’s second Inland Port opened in Dillon Monday, following one year of construction that will connect by railroad the Pee Dee region with the Port of Charleston. The $50 million construction project will ship and receive containers filled with cargo and material destined for local manufacturing warehouses and overseas markets.

The state’s first inland port opened in Greer in November 2013 and is located between Greenville and Spartanburg.

“Really, what makes Inland Port Dillon so exciting is its location,” explained William L. Fleming, Jr., president and CEO of Marlboro Electric Cooperative and of Marlboro Development Team, Inc, one of the project’s partners. “It sits on the CSX main rail line that runs directly to the Port of Charleston and is easily accessible from I-95, a major interstate. This inland port is surrounded by more than 3,500 acres of land that is ready for development,” he continued. “A number of companies already are calling Dillon ‘home’ thanks to the Dillon facility and many others are knocking on the door.”

“Inland ports provide needed infrastructure in the interior of the state to support the movement of freight to and from our marine terminals,” said Jim Newsome, SCPA president and CEO. “The addition of Inland Port Dillon to the Port’s network diversifies our reach and enables port users to gain logistics efficiencies through rail transportation of their cargo. We’ve had tremendous support from the Dillon region to date and look forward to growing our cargo base for the facility.”

U.S. Congressman Tom Rice, R-SC, State Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R – Dist. 31, Kent Williams, D – Dist. 40, and State Rep. Jackie “Coach” Hayes, D – Dist. 55, joined Gov. Henry McMaster for the Grand Opening ceremony, which included two 70- to 80-foot-tall rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes moving in opposite directions splitting a large, orange ribbon that marked the occasion.

“There’s a new kind of prosperity coming to South Carolina and it hasn’t been by accident,” Gov. McMaster told the enthusiastic crowd of more than 100 business men and women present for the event.

Joining state officials at the Grand Opening ceremony were Stevie Grice, chairman, Dillon County Council; Rodney Berry, Dillon County Administrator; Kellen Riley, manager, Industrial Development for CSX; and Robby Roberson, vice president, East Coast Distribution Operations, Harbor Freight Tools, which is significantly expanding its Dillon operation and is the launch customer for the new inland port.