The Jasper Ocean Terminal, first announced in 2007 by then-Govs. Sonny Perdue of Georgia and Mark Sanford of South Carolina, was to be built on 1,500 acres along the South Carolina bank of the Savannah River. Designs called for berth space for 10 container ships and the capacity to handle an estimated 7 million container units a year — enough boxes, placed end to end, to circle the Earth with some left over.

Instead, the site remains a barren landscape of marsh and riverbank, little changed from two decades ago. Cargo vessels still pass by on their way to and from the Port of Savannah, but none will dock at Jasper.

The project's demise was confirmed in a terse joint statement from the Georgia Ports Authority and the South Carolina Ports Authority, which said the two agencies had agreed to abandon the bistate development. The decision was first reported in a nonprofit news outlet last month.

"It's a sad day when a long-sought project is finally abandoned," said David Lynch, a former Georgia Ports Authority official who was involved in the early discussions. "But the two states have always had independent facilities and naturally focused on optimizing their own operations."

The seeds of the failure were planted early. The two port authorities, which operate the ports of Savannah and Charleston, are competitors. Georgia's port has grown rapidly, becoming the fourth-busiest container gateway in the nation, while Charleston has struggled at times to keep pace. Each state invested in its own terminals rather than a shared facility.

In 2007, the same year the Jasper plan was announced, Georgia began buying land on Hutchinson Island for a new container terminal, and South Carolina moved forward with its own expansion plans. The two states also clashed over river dredging and environmental mitigation.

"There was a natural concern that each side was trying to optimize its own business," Lynch said. "The partnership was awkward from the start."

The project also faced logistical challenges. The site is about seven miles downriver from downtown Savannah, but the river channel requires constant dredging, and the terminal would have needed new road and rail connections. The estimated cost of the first phase alone was $5 billion.

Despite the shelving, some officials say the need for additional port capacity in the region remains. The Port of Savannah handled 5.7 million container units last year, and the Port of Charleston handled 2.5 million. Both ports are investing in expansions, but environmental and community groups have raised concerns about traffic and air quality.

"The need for additional capacity hasn't gone away," said Chris Kempton, a maritime consultant. "But building a new terminal from scratch is a long and difficult process, and the two states have shown they can't do it together."

For now, the Jasper site will remain undeveloped. Local officials in Jasper County, S.C., had hoped the terminal would bring jobs and economic development to one of the poorest counties in the state. Those hopes are now dashed.

"It's a missed opportunity," said Jasper County Councilman David Smith. "But we have to move on and look for other ways to grow our economy."

The Georgia Ports Authority and South Carolina Ports Authority declined to comment beyond their joint statement. The decision leaves the Savannah River without a new container terminal for the foreseeable future, and it remains unclear whether either state will pursue a solo project on the site.

Environmental groups, which had opposed the Jasper terminal over concerns about dredging and habitat loss, welcomed the news but cautioned that the region still needs a comprehensive plan for maritime growth.

"We're glad this particular project is off the table," said a spokesperson for the Coastal Conservation League. "But we need to have a serious conversation about how to handle increasing ship traffic without harming the river."

For now, the ships will keep passing by, and the marsh will remain.