Dubai team envisions creating a new economy in Orangeburg

Friday, 28 September 2007

Page 2 of 2 Although Heath declined to discuss specifics of the land acquisition process or how quickly the land will be developed once Jafza International acquires the entire 1,300-acre site, sources in Orangeburg said Friday morning negotiations on numerous parcels are moving quickly. Asked about the 8,000 to 10,000 jobs representatives of the company had previously suggested would be created in Orangeburg, Heath stood firm by those assertions. "I've done my numbers, and these are the numbers we anticipate being created in Orangeburg and the surrounding area," he said, explaining that the numbers include direct employment at the site, indirect employment inspired by Jafza International's activities in Orangeburg, and employment by others that is induced by the logistics center’s presence. Heath explained that he arrived at his job creation estimate by starting with the company’s experience at Jebel Ali and determined that it had created roughly 4.29 jobs per acre. Heath then applied that number to the 1,300 acres in Orangeburg and arrived at an estimated 5,500 direct jobs in the logistics park. "We then began to look at economic impact studies done in relation to Jebel Ali, applied those findings, at a suitable scale, to Orangeburg, and believe we'll generate at least another 2,200 indirect jobs. "Then, in terms of induced jobs, we found that there was a 10% factor in terms of what happened at Jebel Ali—that's another 550 jobs," he said, describing induced jobs as the bank tellers and other service employees that would have to be hired to deal with the influx of new workers. Jafza International has also included a 2% factor for "other" employment indirectly created by its activities, an estimated net of another 165 jobs. "So that's roughly 8,500 jobs, but that estimate has a lot of variables to it," Heath said. "That's the low end of the scale. However, if we find in developing the site that the site pulls in more light manufacturing than distribution centers or that there is a demand for office space in the area, that's going to rapidly accelerate the numbers because those are higher density operations in terms of people on site than warehouses would be." Jafza International isn't the only entity developing a commercial park in Orangeburg, said Gregg Robinson of the Orangeburg Economic Development Commission. Several other smaller parks are in the works and Orangeburg and Dorchester counties are about to hire an engineer to determine where they can build a joint county park. "The more the merrier," Heath said. "I think there's a good level of credibility that goes along with all that development, and I think it creates a greater awareness factor that creates additional opportunities. "At the same time, I think all that competition is very healthy for us as a business. After all, it's human nature to get lackadaisical after awhile, to get a little lazy. We're strong believers in competition because it forces you to be on your toes." Hours before Heath spoke to SCBIZ he had had meetings with commercial delegations from South Korea and India who want to increase their profile at Jebel Ali. "Our future success is based on our major trading partners," Heath said. "Now, you're right, a tremendous amount of Indian imports come through East Coast ports, with fully 605 of those goods coming through the ports of Charleston and Savannah. "The problem India has, its biggest risk, is that it has no real infrastructure. We're currently in the process of helping to rectify that by building six logistics zones and two industrial zones in India, and we intend to work very closely with Charleston and other ports in the Southeast to ensure they benefit from our network of connections.” << Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>