The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) has approved a spending package of US$19.7m to construct its new Appalachian Regional Port terminal in Chatsworth, Georgia.
The new inland terminal is the second for the GPA and part of the “Network Georgia” programme designed to create inland terminals throughout the state to reduce intermodal truck traffic and provide greater rail capacity to the Southeast US and beyond.
Griff Lynch, executive director, GPA, said: “The Appalachian Regional Port (ARP) will create a new gateway to the Port of Savannah for our customers serving Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and beyond. We estimate the ARP will offset more than 350 truck miles per container, or close to 18 million miles every year.”
The ARP terminal will be approximately 40 acres and be operated using highly efficient rubber tyred gantry cranes to move cargo to and from CSX trains. GPA expects construction to be complete in late summer, 2018.
Funds for the new terminal consist of US$10m from the state of Georgia and US$9.7m from the GPA. In addition, CSX is making off-site improvements to facilitate the new terminal.
Meanwhile, the authority has also approved a US$4.3m to upgrade electrical power for GPA’s growing fleet of neo-Panamax Ship to Shore (STS) cranes.
By the end of 2017, eight additional STS cranes will be added, bringing the total number of cranes to 30, more than any terminal in the US.
GPA said that this year its focus is on increasing capacity, expanding reach into new markets and providing superior supply chain solutions for its customers.
