GPA announces sweeping port-wide infrastructure developments

At the annual State of the Port Address, Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) Executive Director Griff Lynch detailed the record cargo volumes at Georgia ports as well as future plans for transportation and logistics infrastructure improvements across the state.    Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) Executive Director Griff Lynch announced port-wide infrastructure development and record cargo volumes during the annual State of the Port Address on Thursday.
   At Savannah, GPA has completed 35 percent of the harbor expansion project and is currently serving 14,000-TEU vessels. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the port receives $7.30 in economic benefits to for every dollar spent on the harbor project, the GPA said.
   At Brunswick during fiscal year 2017, terminal space grew 50 percent, from 60,000 spaces to 90,000 spaces. Annual capacity is over 800,000 vehicles and GPA is working to double vehicle processing. “At full build-out the Brunswick expansion will provide 150,000 spaces for automobile processing, for an annual capacity of 1.4 million vehicles,” GPA stated.
   Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, who attended the event hosted by the Savannah Propeller Club, credited the Authority Board and the GPA team for achieving growth of 8.3 percent in total tonnage across all terminals during Fiscal Year 2017, and doing it safely and without congestion. Savannah handled 3.85 million twenty-foot equivalent units, and Brunswick moved 607,000 auto and machinery units. No other port in the Southeast recorded greater volumes for these commodities.
   “Our ports’ outstanding FY17 performance highlights the value these assets bring to economic development throughout Georgia,” Gov. Deal said. “Growing capabilities in Savannah and Brunswick support the expansion of manufacturing and distribution, and the jobs these private developments provide for our citizens.”
   GPA has also invested in e-commerce infrastructure, including a 630,000 square-foot furniture facility and a 345,000 square-foot home accessories facility for Noble House and Best Choice, respectively. Industrial warehousing space now equals 57 million square feet, said GPA. Port-related e-commerce infrastructure from fiscal year 2017 includes an 846,000 square-foot distribution center for Wayfair and a 753,000 square-foot facility for Tory Burch, said GPA.
   “Today’s announcements are the result of the strong collaboration of Georgia’s entire maritime community, including GPA, the International Longshoremen’s Association, stevedores, motor carriers, rail and third-party service providers,” Lynch said. “We thank Noble House and Best Choice and the many other business leaders who have selected Georgia and the Georgia Ports this year. E-commerce is a growing opportunity for Georgia as companies take advantage of cost savings related to landing cargo closer to population centers in the Eastern U.S.”
   Future plans for GPA include expansion on all fronts, said Lynch. On the coast, four super post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes will arrive at the Port of Savannah in 2018, with six more delivered by 2020. The port will then have a total of 36 to move 1,300 containers per hour on and off vessels, said GPA.
   The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project will continue to deepen the outer harbor to 49 feet at low tide, 56 feet at high tide, and the inner harbor to 47 feet at low tide, 56 feet at high tide. The port plans to have the project completed in late 2020.
   “Since the opening of the expanded Panama Canal at the start of FY2017,” said GPA, “the percentage of the fleet calling on Savannah that are neo-Panamax vessels has grown from 42 percent to 60 percent.”
   For rail, the port authority will begin on a $128 million Mega-Rail Project which will increase terminal track to handle 10,000-foot long unit trains. Construction is expected to begin in early 2018, with a slated completion date of 2020. The GPA also broke ground on the Appalachian Regional Port inland rail yard in Chatsworth, Ga., in fiscal year 2017. With a completion date of fall 2018, truck traffic in Atlanta will be reduced by 50,000 trips annually.
   Adding a 12.5 percent increase in capacity for motor carriers is also in the works, as the port authority plans to add six truck lanes to its current gate structure for a total of 54 lanes at the Garden City Terminal in Savannah.
   Off-terminal, the state of Georgia is investing $10 billion over 10 years into freight mobility for dedicated truck lanes. Georgia will form a complete cargo beltway for motor carriers between the port and the interstate system, GPA said.