RINCON — A major economic  force is emerging from fertile soil in southern Effingham County.

Developer Chesterfield LLC conducted a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday for the Georgia International Trade Center, a light industrial and manufacturing park consisting of 1,140 acres. The CSX rail-served property is located within 10 miles of the Georgia Ports Authority at the intersection of Old Augusta Road and Ga. Hwy 21.

“GITC is Effingham and Savannah’s new Class A industrial park that will become the home to over seven million square feet of distribution space and manufacturing facilities which will bring possibly hundreds and thousands of jobs to our community,” said Chance Raehn, Chesterfield’s senior vice president of development. “Today, as you can see behind me, we are literally breaking ground on our first three buildings.”

The event was attended by numerous business and government leaders, including some from the Effingham County Development Authority, Effingham County Board of Commissioners and Georgia Ports Authority.

Stacy Watson, the ports authority’s general manager of  economic and industrial development, said the GITC will help meet the growing demand at the Port of Savannah.