The Georgia Ports Authority's (GPA) Board of Directors recently approved a series of construction and new equipment contracts that will significantly increase container handling capacity at the Port of Savannah.

'The Georgia Ports Authority is growing faster than any other port authority if its' kind in the nation,' said Senator Mack Mattingly, Chairman of the GPA Board of Directors. 'The contracts approved today will allow Georgia's ports to continue to stay one step ahead of the growth curve, provide our customers with the best service possible, and increase our economic impact throughout Georgia.'

At their meeting the Board approved four contracts to meet growing demand for container handling and storage. Those contracts include:

  • $3.7 million to demolish a warehouse and install seven acres of heavy-duty asphalt pavement and related infrastructure.
  • $1.5 million to purchase 15 spreader bars for Rubber Tired Gantry cranes recently purchased to enhance operations within existing port terminal facilities.
  • $700,000 to purchase four spreader bars for ship-to-shore container cranes
  • $900,000 to complete the acquisition and assembly of four ship-to-shore cranes.

In his August, 2006 report to the Board of Directors, Doug J. Marchand, Executive Director of the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), said several new shipping services and especially new 'express' services were gaining market share and bringing new business to Georgia. 'This new type of 'express' service has a 22-day transit time from Shanghai to Savannah and is the wave of the future for Georgia's trade with China. And this new wave is going to bring additional waves of new business.'

Marchand also reported August results. Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (teu) containers handled during the month of August reached a record 181,417, an 8.7% increase over the previous year.