State Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey is seen during a ribbon cutting event in Columbia, South Carolina, on Thursday, May 12, 2022. To his left is former Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin. (Photo by Travis Bell/STATEHOUSE CAROLINA/Special to the SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s economic development agency is offering up $85 million to lure a new food or beverage company to Orangeburg County.
A legislative oversight panel gave the initial nod Wednesday on the incentive package for the unidentified company, referred to by the code name “Project Panther,” seeking to open a $400 million packaging and distribution facility on 918 acres south of the town of Orangeburg. The company has pledged to employ 400 South Carolinians.
The approval followed a permit request filed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last July by the state Department of Commerce and the Orangeburg County Development Commission filed on behalf of the company…