FOLLOWING three consecutive months of record growth in container throughput, the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) announced the sale of 500 acres of property for commercial development to accommodate growing customer demand for warehousing, distribution and transload facilities near the Port of Savannah.
The new development, located on five parcels of land at GPA's Savannah River International Trade Park, is less than five miles from the Garden City Container Terminal and can accommodate up to 5 million square feet of logistics space.
"Today's announcement will help further establish Savannah as a gateway port for the US Southeast and beyond," said executive director Griff Lynch. "With an increased demand for reliable, cost-effective logistics opportunities, this development is another example of GPA's focus on supply chain solutions for our customers."
January was the third month in a row of record performances at the Savannah container port, with the Authority moving 331,190 TEU, an improvement of 16.1 per cent or 45,889 TEU, according to a GPA statement.
The GPA reported for the month of November a 5.8 per cent increase in container traffic, reaching 300,671 TEU. In December, the Port of Savannah handled 292,172 TEU, a 12.3 per cent increase over December 2015.
"The expansion we're seeing in our container volumes constitutes a strong vote of confidence from our new and longtime port customers," said GPA board chairman Jimmy Allgood. "Keeping ahead of demand requires infrastructure development in both the public and private sector. The new facilities destined for our trade park are part of that equation. The GPA is also making the on-terminal improvements necessary to stay ahead of demand."