Georgia Ports Authority acquires land to expand Savannah port

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) has acquired 145 acres next to the Port of Savannah as part of a larger plan to expand the port's capacity to more than 9 million 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) by 2030.

The addition is expected to add more than 1 million TEUs in annual capacity, GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch said yesterday during the Georgia Foreign Trade Conference.

"This is the largest addition of container terminal space in Savannah in more than 20 years, and represents a powerful opportunity for Georgia to take on new trade," Lynch said in a press release.

Also yesterday, Lynch announced that Garden City Terminal Dock construction has been completed. It now can serve three 14,000-TEU vessels and up to eight vessels at the same time.

Lynch also outlined plans for the new Savannah Container Terminal, a nearly 200-acre facility to be built on Hutchinson Island. The new facility will have a capacity of 2.5 million TEUs when fully developed. The first phase is projected to come online in 2025, GPA officials said.

CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway are the Class Is that serve the Port of Savannah. Last year, the GPA announced a new dual rail service would be offered from the port to Chicago, with cargo moved between the points in less than three days.