Georgia Ports plan 8m teu capacity by 2028

Projects include the Mason Mega Rail facility, which will double the Port of Savannah’s rail capacity to 1m lifts per year by 2020; new equipment purchases including eight additional ship-to-shore cranes and 64 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes; gate and container storage expansions, berth improvements and off terminal road additions.

“We’re preparing to redefine the Port of Savannah as not simply the load center for the Southeastern U.S., but as the port of choice for major inland markets east of the Mississippi River,” GPA executive director Griff Lynch said at the Savannah State of the Port event.

Bigger vessels

Work on the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) is expected to be finished in late 2021.

As deeper water allows larger vessels to call on the Port of Savannah, the GPA, along with its state partners, will be examining future infrastructure requirements, including air draft capacity of the Talmadge Bridge. Although no such vessels currently call on the US East Coast, the port could handle some vessels up to 19,000 teu capacity.

In just the past year, GPA handled a record 4.2m teus, for an 8.4% increase, or 325,000 additional units. Intermodal rail lifts surged to 435,000, an increase of 16.1%, or more than 60,000 additional moves.