{"id":14889,"date":"2020-03-24T09:06:09","date_gmt":"2020-03-24T09:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.felana.com.mx\/eng\/the-port-of-savannah-to-expand-to-handle-9-million-teus-by-2030\/"},"modified":"2020-03-24T09:06:09","modified_gmt":"2020-03-24T09:06:09","slug":"the-port-of-savannah-to-expand-to-handle-9-million-teus-by-2030","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.felana.com.mx\/eng\/the-port-of-savannah-to-expand-to-handle-9-million-teus-by-2030\/","title":{"rendered":"The Port of Savannah to Expand to Handle 9 Million TEUs by 2030"},"content":{"rendered":"

Georgia\u2019s Port of Savannah, one of the busiest ports in the U.S., will aim to expand its capacity to 9 million TEUs within ten years.<\/span><\/h4>\n

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) made the announcement earlier this week, well-aware that significant improvements in infrastructure and capability will need to be made in order to increase the port\u2019s volume handled.<\/p>\n

GPA CEO, Griff Lynch, had this to say regarding the planned increase in capacity: \u201cTen years out at a 4 percent growth rate, we\u2019re going to handle 7 million TEU per year [empty and laden], so we\u2019re going to need capacity of 9 million. If we don\u2019t build, then they won\u2019t come.\u201d<\/em> Lynch recognized that the Port of Savannah has not taken full advantage of economic growth and can significantly if capacity increases.<\/p>\n

Capacity at the port is growing through different infrastructure projects.<\/span><\/h4>\n

Capacity at the Port of Savannah will be increased through a combination of work, including strategic acquisitions, conversion of existing infrastructure into more-efficient infrastructure, upgrading terminals, and more. The GPA plans to acquire 145 acres of land near the Port of Savannah with the aim of being able to handle an extra 1 million TEUs of container activity. Additionally, an existing roll-on\/roll-off (ro-ro) terminal at the port will be converted for handling of containers.<\/p>\n

Other infrastructure updates being made include an upgrade of the Port of Savannah\u2019s Garden City Terminal, which was upgraded to handle three 14,000-TEU ships at a time, the renovation of Berth 1 at the Garden City Terminal, so that it can handle a much-larger post-Panamax vessel, and a reconfiguration of the port\u2019s Ocean Terminal to handle small vessels up to 2,500 TEUs. The upgrades will be completed over the next 3-4 years.<\/p>\n

Infrastructure upgrade work is taking place simultaneously with the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, aimed at deepening the harbor to 47-feet from its existing 42-foot depth. That project should be completed by the end of next year.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s critical that the Port of Savannah is expanded as the economy has grown along with increased demand.<\/span><\/h4>\n

Already the largest port in the Southeastern U.S., the Port of Savannah handled almost 4 million TEUs in 2019, an increase of nearly 5 percent from 2018. The increase is largely attributed to more shipping activity from Asia over the past several years. With the U.S.-China trade war potentially easing in 2020 and beyond, more Chinese import volume may prompt the need for increased capacity at U.S. East Coast ports. The Port of Savannah hopes to be ready for this increase.<\/p>\n