Another one slips away

Take a prime parcel of land at the intersection of Interstates 16 and 95 in Pooler. Add the promise of a $750 million, multi-million- square-foot automotive plant that would bring more than 3,000 well-paying jobs and infuse more than $150 million annually into the local economy.

And what do you have?

A broken promise - if it ever was a promise to begin with.

But in 2002, it was the Savannah area's first major foray into the highly competitive world of foreign direct investment, and state and economic development officials were convinced it was a done deal.

So the state purchased the 1,500-acre property for $23 million and began clearing and grading, wetlands mitigation, putting in power lines and access roads. In all, the state invested some $60 million in the property before then-DaimlerChrysler announced it was postponing plans to build a Sprinter van plant here.

That disappointment would be the first of many over the next 13 years, including a "no thanks" from such auto giants as Toyota and Volkswagen, manufacturers Continental Tire, Boeing, Caterpillar and Bentler Steel.

Southeast Georgia has had its share of victories as well - Gulfstream's expansion, Mitsubishi-Hitachi Power Systems, JCB, Firth Rixson (now Alcoa), Efacec and Ceasarstone, just to name a few, plus a myriad distribution centers and warehouses.

But, while everyone - from the governor's office to the four-county joint development authority that lived and breathed the Volvo deal 24/7 for three months - is putting a brave "we're ready for the next big thing" face on it, losing Volvo hurts just a little more.

And that's because it was lost to South Carolina.

Every indication is that Volvo's decision came down to the wire and there's no evidence South Carolina didn't edge Georgia fair and square. Maybe it was Nikki Haley's charm. Maybe their incentive package was sweeter. Maybe it was the connections of Bobby Hitt, Haley's commerce secretary and an auto industry insider who was tipped that the Swedish automaker was looking months before anyone else knew.

Whatever it was, the less-than-cordial political relationship between the two states makes the sting just a little sharper.

After all, it was South Carolina that managed, through lawsuits and delaying tactics - all in the name of saving the environment - to drag the Savannah Harbor deepening out at least a couple of years. The same South Carolina that met secretly with all its environmental groups to make sure they didn't squawk about the 200-plus acres of wetlands to be filled for Volvo.

It was South Carolina's refusal to come to the table on the Jasper Port that put it on ice for a year or more, pushing that timeline farther out than it needs to be.

But the worst of it?

That huge Sprinter van plant that Georgia was promised all those years ago is finally going to be a reality - in South Carolina.

Yes, Georgia will get over this and move on - the Bryan County megasite and the Pooler megasite on a smaller scale are primed and ready.

But first, as Georgia Ports executive director Curtis Foltz put it last week, we really need to know why we lost.

"Somewhere, somehow, South Carolina outflanked us, and we as a state need to find out how that happened," he said.

"We shouldn't lose projects like this to South Carolina, period."

So, while we wait to hear why from Volvo, please pardon us if it takes a little time to lick the salt from our wounds.