The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) board has approved construction of seven additional refrigerated container racks at the Port of Savannah to stay ahead of the anticipated growth in demand.
This decision came at a GPA meeting on 31 January.
Private chilled and frozen warehouse space in Savannah is set to grow by 11 per cent in 2023 to more than 2.2 million square feet.
The $6.2 million project will grow the number of slots for cold cargo to 3,506 at Garden City Terminal, counting chassis plug-ins.
Savannah’s Ocean Terminal provides another 368 refrigerated container plugs.
Chilled and frozen products handled at the Port of Savannah range from proteins such as poultry and seafood to blueberries, avocados, citrus, stone fruits and onions, among other commodities.
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“Expansion among our cold storage partners in the Savannah market will drive greater volumes of chilled cargo crossing our docks,” said GPA Executive Director, Griff Lynch.
“While the Port of Savannah already accommodates the most refrigerated containers on the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts, enhancing our on-terminal capacity will better support the jobs and opportunity sparked by private investment.”
This decision comes months after the GPA ordered 12 Konecranes Rubber-Tyred Gantries (RTGs) for the Port of Savannah, which was prospected to support the port’s productivity and continue growth.
Lynch also reported that vessel service had returned to normal operations without backlog.
Additionally, Lynch reported that four new ship-to-shore cranes are slated to arrive at the Port of Savannah on 9 February.
The cranes are large enough to handle vessels with a capacity of more than 20,000 TEU.
The cranes are destined for Container Berth 1 at Garden City Terminal, which is currently under renovation.
The Port of Savannah will be able to serve seven ships concurrently when berth improvements are complete in July.
