The Southeastern Ohio Port Authority has repaid a Washington County loan of more than $1.5 million in full, about eight years earlier than required, according to an announcement the authority made Monday.
The Washington County Commission held a news conference with the port authority the same day. According to the report, the borrowed money went toward acquiring the former AMP-Ohio Gorsuch Power Plant site so it could be redeveloped into a multi-modal port.
Beyond the principal, the authority returned just over $185,000 in interest to the county, the report states.
Commission president Charlie Schilling called the early payoff significant and said the arrangement had already delivered benefits to the county and its residents that they had not seen before. He thanked those involved and described the day as an exciting one for Washington County, noting that local government had participated in a positive way.
Port authority president Eric Wade said the authority will move as quickly as it can to develop the 51-acre property along State Route 7. The planned port is designed so cargo can move among trucks, trains and barges. Once finished, the project is projected to create 75 jobs in warehousing, rail and river operations in Washington County.