GPA begins major container handling upgrade

The upgrade, which is slated to cost US$4.5 billion over the next 12 years, will increase capacity to 2 million teu per year.

Refurbishment plans at the Garden City and Ocean terminals at the Port of Savannah include new cranes, infrastructure improvements, a new warehouse and an additional 2,800 feet of berth space.

Previous work at Garden City Terminal to straighten a bend in Container Berth 1 has allowed the port to simultaneously serve four 16,000 teu vessels plus three additional ships.

To support this increased capacity, GPA has ordered eight new ship-to-shore cranes to handle the additional 1.5 million teu per year.

Other plans include the transformation of the 200 acre (81 ha) Ocean Terminal into a container-only terminal. The two-phase project will increase berth space by 2,800 feet (853 metres) and expand gates and paving. Another eight new ship-to-shore cranes are on order to handle the 2 million teu of annual capacity.

Over at Garden City Terminal West, 90 acres (36 ha) are being developed as a new container yard, supported by 15 electric rubber-tyred gantry cranes to add a further 1 million teu of capacity per year.

Construction is also under way for a cross-docking warehouse planned for another 90 acres (36 ha) of land upriver from Garden City Terminal. This project will be served by a yard with nine electric RTGs and provide an annual capacity of 400,000 teu.