Ports authority reports progress on Navy base intermodal facility; committee moves to executive session

The Joint Bond Review Committee’s Port Oversight Subcommittee heard an update from the South Carolina Ports Authority on progress at the Navy base intermodal facility and then voted to enter executive session for confidential briefings.

The report presented to the subcommittee, dated Jan. 20, 2026, said the ports authority has continued work finalizing the MBIF operating cost structure and is negotiating business terms with Class I railroads, with targeted completion of those negotiations in June 2026. "Those negotiations are confidential," Micah Malice, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority, told the subcommittee. "We would love to share the details of them in an appropriate forum."

The authority told the panel that all six rail-mounted gantry cranes have been assembled and that commissioning and endurance testing are expected to finish this month. The report noted the Cosgrove extension opened to traffic in September 2025 and that the Drayage Road Bridal is complete, with final settlement monitoring continuing and full completion expected in late 2026. The authority reported that nearly $485,000,000 has been committed on specific contracts and $383,000,000 has been paid to vendors.

After the presentation, the senator from Dorchester moved that the committee "move into executive session to hear from the port and these confidential comments," and the motion was seconded and adopted by voice vote. The committee recorded that no formal action was taken during the executive session.

Committee members said they will work on the next quarterly report and coordinate timing for the next meeting. With no further business, the subcommittee adjourned.

The subcommittee did not disclose details of the confidential negotiations during the public meeting. The next formal update will be provided at the committee’s next quarterly report, date to be scheduled.