Name: Georgia Ports Authority approves $205 million for Savannah Port expansion
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Georgia Ports Authority approves $205 million for Savannah Port expansion

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Savannah Morning NewsView CommentsAfter it’s busiest February ever, the Georgia Ports Authority Board on Monday approved $205 million for capital improvement projects that will increase the Port of Savannah’s container capacity by 20%. This would bring a total annual capacity of 4.7 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) to more than 6 million.&nbsp;“The volume that we’re handling today is volume that we didn’t expect to handle until 2025,” GPA’s executive director Griff Lynch told the Savannah Morning News, “both the ILA, which is the union folks, and the GPA employees are working really hard to step up to the plate and process this cargo.”Last month, the Port of Savannah moved 390,804 TEUs of cargo, an increase of 7.2%, or 26,400 TEUs compared to February 2020. Between September and February, GPA handled 2.64 million TEUs, an increase of nearly 375,000, or 16.5%, compared to the same six-month period a year ago. According to Lynch, that is the equivalent of an extra month of trade in terms of cargo volumes since September.&nbsp;Due to the pandemic, spending habits have shifted from travel services toward more home goods, which has resulted in increased container volumes. Since last fall, GPA has seen significant growth in categories such as machinery, appliances and electronics; hardware and houseware; food; furniture; apparel; and textiles, stated the release.“The belief is that, from our customers, that it will continue into the third quarter of this calendar year,” said Lynch. Consumer goods may trail off in the third quarter and normalize by the fourth, but Lynch says retailers still need to make up a lot of ground on inventory.&nbsp;The port enhancements “will address the needs of port users experiencing a sharp increase in demand, while also preparing Savannah to take on additional business over the long term,” said GPA Board Chairman Will McKnight in the GPA press release.&nbsp;According to Board Chairman Will McKnight, the increase in capacity will lead to about 83,000 new jobs in the state and about 9,500 in Chatham, Liberty, Effingham and Bryan counties.According to updated information on GPA’s press release, Georgia’s deep-water ports and inland barge terminals support more than 496,700 jobs throughout the state annually and contribute $29 billion in income, $122 billion in revenue and $3.4 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia’s economy.Opinion:GPA also plans on hiring another class of 10 high school graduates into their Y.E.S. (Youth learning Equipment and Safety) program. “In addition to that, we are hiring as quickly as we can possibly hire to handle the growth,” said Lynch.Among the approved enhancements is the Peak Capacity project, which will establish 2,100 new grounded container slots, adding 650,000 20-foot equivalent container units of annual container yard capacity within the next eight months at Garden City Terminal.&nbsp;Garden City Terminal is currently the single largest and fastest growing container terminal in North America.Additionally, $140 million of the approved capital expenditure will go towards expanding Garden City Terminal’s Berth 1 to accommodate more big ships and increase berth capacity by an estimated 1 million TEUs per year by June 2023.&nbsp;Opinion:Approximately $45 million of the approved CAPEX will go toward&nbsp;the purchase of 20 new rubber-tired gantry cranes, which will be tall enough to stand over six containers, one higher than Savannah’s older RTGs, allowing for additional capacity in the same terminal footprint.&nbsp;Of the total, $20&nbsp;million will go toward&nbsp;yard expansion and the stacking area.&nbsp;Last November, GPA Board approved $100 million for the purchase of eight new ship-to-shore cranes. The new machines will replace six older models, bringing Savannah’s fleet to 38. The eight taller cranes will arrive in 2023, allowing Garden City Terminal to serve more 15,000+ TEU vessels.&nbsp;The Savannah Port has been able to accommodate 15,000+ TEU ships in the past, but in May they are expecting the first 16,000+ TEU ship to call on the port, said Lynch.&nbsp;The unprecedented growth has only contributed to Savannah’s booming real estate market. Savannah’s industrial market growth rate was the highest in the nation for 2020 in terms of net absorption as a percent of total inventory, states the release. Commercial real estate firm CBRE states that GPA’s “record setting business also helped Atlanta’s industrial market absorb over 20 million square feet in 2020, third most in the nation.”&nbsp;GPA Chief Communications Officer Robert Morris says the significance is great. “It’s a stat that bankers and investors use to determine how high a commercial real estate market is and where to invest their money.”For Subscribers:While the Garden City Terminal undergoes changes, an that came online in February at Savannah’s Ocean Terminal will “ensure our shipping line customers see no service delays,” McKnight said.&nbsp;Other ongoing projects include , a Corps of Engineers project, that will reach substantial completion by the end of Calendar Year 2021, providing greater scheduling flexibility for vessel transit. Once the harbor deepening is complete, there will be more hours for big ships to call on the port.The construction of the is still underway and predicted to be operational in 2026 or 2027. The , which will expand service to inland markets from Atlanta to Memphis, extending to St. Louis, Chicago and the Ohio Valley, is about 80% complete.Other areas of GPA also saw significant growth this year. According to the release, rail cargo outpaced the growth of the overall container trade in February, with intermodal lifts at Garden City Terminal reaching approximately 77,500 TEUs for the month, an increase of 12.6 percent, or nearly 8,700 TEUs. The Appalachian Regional Port also had its busiest February ever, with the inland rail yard handling 4,955 TEUs of trade.In Brunswick Roll-on/Roll-off trade (for wheeled vehicles), Georgia Ports achieved 23 percent growth in February, handling 50,945 units of autos and heavy machinery, up 9,518 units compared to February 2020. GPA has received a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a fourth berth for Ro/Ro cargo at Colonel’s Island Terminal in Brunswick. The project, currently in the engineering phase, will provide increased speed and flexibility in auto processing.“I can’t say enough about our team here and how they're always looking ahead and preparing for increases,” McKnight told the Savannah Morning News, “our team has been able to handle basically a four year increase over the last six months. I think that’s the real story here.”Nancy Guan covers municipalities for the Savannah Morning News. She can be reached at nguan@savannahnow.comView Comments

Savannah Morning NewsView CommentsAfter it’s busiest February ever, the Georgia Ports Authority Board on Monday approved $205 million for capital improvement projects that will increase the Port of Savannah’s container capacity by 20%. This would bring a total annual capacity of 4.7 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) to more than 6 million.&nbsp;“The volume that we’re handling today is volume that we didn’t expect to handle until 2025,” GPA’s executive director Griff Lynch told the Savannah Morning News, “both the ILA, which is the union folks, and the GPA employees are...

Georgia Ports Authority approves $205 million for Savannah Port expansion

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