The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) has received today an additional US$2.5 million in construction funding.
The US Army Corps of Engineers allocated a total of $3.08 million to the work. That included the $588,000 originally budgeted, with the additional amount coming from a fund created by Congress for under-funded port projects around the nation.
“The credit for this important new funding goes to Georgia’s delegation in Washington and other Congressional leaders, whose efforts will move this project forward in a significant way,” said GPA executive director Curtis Foltz.
According to the Army Corps, deepening the Savannah Harbour up to 48 ft will bring more than $115 million in annual economic benefits to the United States, primarily by lowering transportation costs.
The new funding will be used to develop the detailed construction designs required to provide the deeper channel as well as the environmental mitigation components of the project.
The harbour project is necessary to prepare for a new class of larger container ships that are nearly three times the capacity of those currently able to transit the Panama Canal.
In 2014, the Panama Canal expansion will be completed and increase the maximum draft of vessels travelling to and from the US East Coast from 39.5 ft to as much as 50 feet. While the Port of Savannah regularly handles vessels that are too large to transit the Panama Canal, these vessels cannot load to their capacity.
“The Corps should release the final study documents this spring clearing the way for federal approval of the project,” Foltz said. “Once construction begins, we anticipate the deepening to be completed in 2016.”
The Port of Savannah also fared well on maintenance dredging funds, receiving an additional $4.84 million in federal dollars, for a total on the year of $21.9 million. Similarly, the Port of Brunswick received another $1.04 million for maintenance dredging, for a total of $3.98 million for the fiscal year.
The US Army Corps of Engineers allocated a total of $3.08 million to the work. That included the $588,000 originally budgeted, with the additional amount coming from a fund created by Congress for under-funded port projects around the nation.
“The credit for this important new funding goes to Georgia’s delegation in Washington and other Congressional leaders, whose efforts will move this project forward in a significant way,” said GPA executive director Curtis Foltz.
According to the Army Corps, deepening the Savannah Harbour up to 48 ft will bring more than $115 million in annual economic benefits to the United States, primarily by lowering transportation costs.
The new funding will be used to develop the detailed construction designs required to provide the deeper channel as well as the environmental mitigation components of the project.
The harbour project is necessary to prepare for a new class of larger container ships that are nearly three times the capacity of those currently able to transit the Panama Canal.
In 2014, the Panama Canal expansion will be completed and increase the maximum draft of vessels travelling to and from the US East Coast from 39.5 ft to as much as 50 feet. While the Port of Savannah regularly handles vessels that are too large to transit the Panama Canal, these vessels cannot load to their capacity.
“The Corps should release the final study documents this spring clearing the way for federal approval of the project,” Foltz said. “Once construction begins, we anticipate the deepening to be completed in 2016.”
The Port of Savannah also fared well on maintenance dredging funds, receiving an additional $4.84 million in federal dollars, for a total on the year of $21.9 million. Similarly, the Port of Brunswick received another $1.04 million for maintenance dredging, for a total of $3.98 million for the fiscal year.