GPA OKs $141.8M in Infrastructure Improvements

The Georgia Ports Authority board has approved $141.8 million in capital improvements with passage of its fiscal year 2016 budget.

To upgrade existing assets, the board allocated $33.4 million to improve power infrastructure for cranes, paving, increased rail capacity and other terminal improvements at the ports of Savannah and Brunswick.

Another $83.4 million will go toward property development and the purchase of new equipment. Of that, $33 million will pay for 30 new rubber-tired gantry cranes. The addition of conductor rails to support Savannah’s transition to more efficient electric RTGs will cost $11.5 million and allow 20 more RTGs to run on electricity instead of diesel.

The board also dedicated $16.5 million toward the purchase of four new ship-to-shore cranes. The super post-panamax cranes will cost a total of $48.19 million.

Meanwhile, $3 million will pay for property development needed for expanding business in general cargo at Savannah’s Ocean Terminal. At Colonel’s Island Terminal in Brunswick, $5.5 million will go to develop more land to support growing auto volumes.

Container Volumes Growth 

Port of Savannah container volumes jumped 25.8 percent in April, with a total volume of 335,337 twenty-foot equivalent container units, or an additional 69,000 units. The Georgia Ports Authority also saw strong growth in roll-on/roll-off traffic, moving 77,574 units through Brunswick and Savannah, a 14.1 percent gain.

“Across the logistics industry, focus has centered on GPA’s ability to handle large volume increases with no congestion,” Executive Director Curtis Foltz said. “Georgia has built world-class port facilities, and our customers appreciate service reliability for current and future volumes.”

In his report to the GPA Board today, Foltz added that Ocean Terminal, Georgia’s multi-purpose facility in Savannah, nearly doubled its breakbulk cargo in April – expanding at a rate of 96.3 percent (81,691 tons) to reach 166,489 tons of breakbulk goods.

GPA’s total breakbulk tonnage grew by 38.7 percent for April (89,946 tons) to reach 322,603 tons.

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