Georgia Port Authority (GPA) has decided to increase chilled cargo capacity at the port of Savannah and private chilled and frozen warehouse space is set to grow by 11% in 2023 to over 205,000 m².
“Expansion among our cold storage partners in the Savannah market will drive greater volumes of chilled cargo crossing our docks,” said GPA executive director, Griff Lynch.
The GPA board approved the construction of seven additional refrigerated container racks at the Port of Savannah. The US$6.2 million project will grow the number of slots for cold cargo to 3,506 at Garden City Terminal, counting chassis plug-ins. Savannah’s Ocean Terminal provides another 368 refrigerated container plugs.
Chilled and frozen products handled at the Port of Savannah range from proteins such as poultry and seafood to blueberries, avocados, citrus, stone fruits, and onions, among other commodities.
Meanwhile, at the GPA board meeting, Lynch reported that vessel service returned to normal operations, with no backlog. He added that four new ship-to-shore cranes are slated to arrive at the Port of Savannah on 9 February. The machines are large enough to handle vessels with a capacity of 20,000+ TEUs. The cranes are destined for Container Berth 1 at Garden City Terminal, which is currently under renovation.
According to the Georgia Port Authority, when berth improvements are complete in July, the Port of Savannah will be able to serve seven ships simultaneously.
