Foltz details FY’16 investment budget for Savannah

Investments are keeping Savannah ahead of new cargo demand, the Georgia Ports Authority executive director said in his annual State of the Port speech Thursday.    The Georgia Ports Authority plans to build an empty container yard at the Port of Savannah with space for 15,000 TEUs as part of the $142 million capital improvement program for fiscal year 2016 approved by the board in May, Executive Director Curtis Foltz said Thursday in his annual State of the Port address in Savannah.
   A new truck gate with eight additional interchange lanes at the port’s Garden City Terminal is scheduled to be completed by March, added Foltz.
   Other previously announced upgrades include four new ship-to-shore cranes, for a total of 26, and 30 new rubber-tired gantry cranes, for a total of 146. The RTGs will cost an estimated $33 million.
   The Port of Savannah set a record for the fiscal year ended June 30 with 3.66 million TEUs – an increase of 16.5 percent, or more than half a million TEUs. Of that cargo, 369,347 containers moved by rail, an 11 percent increase over the previous year.
   The surge in container business was made possible by better economic growth, the diversion of West Coast cargo by shippers looking to avoid congestion, and growth in imports helped by a strong dollar, according to the port authority.
   The Port of Savannah has been able to handle the spike in volume with relatively few delays. The ability to maintain efficiency has impressed many shippers using the port for the first time because of problems on the West Coast and convinced them to continue routing shipments there, according to Foltz and other industry officials.
   “The fact we were able to handle this influx of business without congestion has opened doors to long-term opportunities for Georgia. This new improvement plan will continue to keep Savannah’s capacity ahead of demand,” Foltz said, according to a summary of his remarks issued by the GPA.
   The port investment and fluid terminals are helping to attract $619 million worth of distribution centers around Savannah for retailers and manufacturers, said Foltz.
   The ports of Savannah and Brunswick also achieved a combined fiscal year record in autos and heavy machinery, moving 714,008 units. Auto traffic at the Ocean Terminal increased by 29 percent.
   Tonnage across all port terminals was up 7.8 percent to 31.7 million tons.
   Foltz also detailed progress toward deepening the Savannah Harbor for post-Panamax vessels. Earlier this month a Great Lakes Dredge & Dock vessel began work on a $134.5 million contract issued to dredge the 18.5-mile outer harbor to 49 feet at mean low water. The main channel in the Savannah River will be deepened five feet to 47 feet.
   Beyond the terminal gates, the state Department of Transportation is set to complete the Jimmy Deloach Parkway extension in 2016. The project will provide a direct route between the Garden City Terminal and Interstates 95 and 16, separating truck and commuter traffic, and cutting transit times for both.