Investments to accommodate Georgia's booming trade with Asia
HONG KONG, April 16 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Members of the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) Board of Directors unveiled its $1.2 billion capital improvement plan for the ports of Savannah and Brunswick with officials in Hong Kong and Singapore this week.
"We're making investments today to accommodate Georgia's booming trade with Asia tomorrow," said Steve Green, GPA's Vice-Chairman. "Asia's economy continues to fuel world trade and is developing a vibrant domestic market for Georgia-made products."
Georgia is the second largest importer and exporter of goods to and from Asia on the U.S. East Coast (USEC). Looking at Hong Kong alone, Georgia is the third largest importer and second largest exporter on the USEC. With such strong Asian trade, the GPA is paving the way to accommodate future growth.
Several new services connecting Savannah and Asia have firmly cemented Savannah as the number-one port on the USEC for trade with Northeast Asia and the number-two port for Asian trade on the USEC. The GPA has 24 Asia services with six transiting the Suez Canal: three of which call Southeast Asia and three of which call India/Middle East. The GPA expects two more Suez services within the next three months (one from India and one from SE Asia).
Last year, 1,116,062 TEUs or 53 percent of the GPA's total 2.1 million TEUs (throughput), consisted of direct imports and exports to and from China including Hong Kong.
During meetings with top shipping executives, GPA officials provided details of a billion-dollar-plus plan that will secure future growth with Asia. Capital investments include new super post-Panamax container cranes and rubber-tired gantry cranes, major technology upgrades and other terminal improvements.
The GPA will have 19 container cranes by early 2008 when four new cranes come online and at least 25 in use by 2015. The addition of 15 RTGs in 2008 and 12 in 2009 will yield a total of 58.
"In CY2006, the GPA has attracted 10 new services with five to Asia," said Doug J. Marchand, GPA's Executive Director. "This has expanded our customers' ability to move cargo globally." More than a decade ago the GPA set out to attract the big box retailers sourcing from Asia and succeeded.
