The Port of Savannah has registered a container volume growth of nearly 18% in February reaching 460,413 TEU, extending year-over-year increases to 19 consecutive months.
To better accommodate that growth, the Georgia Port Authority (GPA) has expedited more than US$530 million in capacity expansion projects to increase the Savannah Port’s annual capacity from the current 6 million to 9.5 million TEU by 2025.
“This growth plan is part of an overall strategy to enhance operations, accommodate increased demand, and deliver world-class service and reliability,” said GPA executive director, Griff Lynch.
Additionally, GPA will develop a land of 343,983 m², which will include vehicle processing facilities at the Port of Brunswick and is estimated to be completed in 2023. This project is also expected to increase the container capacity of the port of Savannah.
Furthermore, GPA’s board permitted the expansion of Garden City Terminal West, which involves the addition of 364,217 m² of container storage, a truck gate and rubber-tired gantry cranes. The development is expected to increase the Port of Savannah’s annual capacity by 1 million TEU in phases through 2023 and 2024.
The port authority is also building a transloading facility with a cross-docking warehouse, which is projected to be completed by April 2023 and is expected to address the demand for cross-dock services in Savannah, allowing customers to move cargo directly from the docks to destination markets or distribution centres.
Last but not least, the board has also agreed to order seven new ship-to-shore cranes for the Port of Savannah, bringing its fleet to 42.
The expected cost of the projects, which will be funded through a combination of bonds and internal GPA capital, equates to 33% of the US$1.6 billion GPA spent on new infrastructure over the past 10 years.
Amid the ongoing expansion projects, GPA, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Georgia Department of Transportation and dignitaries celebrated the completion of the Savannah Harbor deepening on 25 March.
“With the completion of the Savannah Harbor deepening, we have the water depth to more easily accommodate big ships,” said Lynch, who went on to add, “Our current projects will complement the harbour expansion by giving us the landside capacity we need to handle larger container volumes.”
Dredging for the Savannah Harbour Expansion Project started in September 2015, adding 1.5 metres in depth to the shipping channel, while initial feasibility studies for the harbour deepening began in 1997.
“After more than 20 years in the making, we are thrilled to mark this accomplishment today,” commented Lynch, and continued, “A deeper channel means more than just efficient passage for the largest vessels calling the US East Coast, continued opportunity, job growth and prosperity for the people of our state.”
The project expedites the flow of cargo to and from global destinations by reducing tidal restrictions for mega-ships transiting the Savannah River, giving Georgia exporters a greater opportunity to move goods overseas, as ships can take on more cargo.
GPA said that deepening the Savannah Harbour to 14.3 metres at mean low water provides ample draft for vessels carrying more than 16,000 TEU, allowing ships to transit the river with more containers each trip and during more hours of the day.
Particularly, ships can now load up to approximately 1,000 containers worth of additional cargo for increased efficiency in vessel transport, which means that the US port can handle more ships each year.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp commented, “Completion of our harbour deepening is a testament to a shared commitment between state and federal partners, like our previous governors and current and former members of Congress who worked tirelessly to help move this project forward to provide the infrastructure our economy needs to thrive.”
According to a Corps of Engineers study, the project is expected to net more than US$291 million in annual benefits to the nation.
