The Army Corps approved the permit for a 350-acre container terminal on Hutchinson Island. Construction starts January 2028; the port aims for 12 million TEU.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved the permit for the Georgia Ports Authority’s $2.3 billion Savannah Container Terminal on Hutchinson Island. The approval came after a three-year review.
Ports Authority President Kevin Price announced it Wednesday at the annual State of the Port address at the Savannah Convention Center. The authority set out the details in a news release the same day.
What the authority says it will build
According to the release, the new terminal will have:
- 350 acres on Hutchinson Island, across the Savannah River from downtown
- three ship berths
- room for 3.5 million TEU a year (a TEU is one 20-foot shipping container, the industry’s standard measure)
- the ability to handle the largest container ships
Construction starts in January 2028. The authority expects the terminal to be finished in the mid-2030s.
“We’re excited about the Savannah Container Terminal’s role in our future growth and investment plans to take us to a 12 million TEU gateway container port,” Price said in the release.
How it fits the port’s wider plan
The Port of Savannah can handle 7.75 million TEU a year today, the authority said. Its stated goal is 12 million.
The new terminal is one of two big projects on the river. The other is a $1.6 billion rebuild of Ocean Terminal, which will raise that terminal’s capacity from 200,000 TEU to 1.75 million. The authority expects it to be done by the end of 2028.
Between them, the two projects add five berths for large container ships in Savannah. The authority said that is the most of any U.S. container port.
The authority’s board plans to spend nearly $5 billion over the next 10 years, paid for from its own revenue. It has approved $4.13 billion in improvements over the past 10 years.
“We play the long game here,” Chairman Alec Poitevint said.
The release did not give a construction cost breakdown, a contractor or a job count for the new terminal.
Ports CEO Griff Lynch to retire
Chief Executive Griff Lynch also said he will retire Aug. 1, 2027, after 16 years at the authority. Price is named in the release as his successor.
Lynch joined as chief operating officer in 2011. Since then, the authority said:
- revenue is up 213%
- container volume is up 90%
- roll-on, roll-off cargo (vehicles and machinery) is up 60%
“We’re never done growing,” Lynch said.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes on the river yet. Work on the new terminal is not due to start until January 2028.
- Truck traffic. The Port of Savannah already handles about 15,000 truck gate moves a day and 42 double-stack trains a week, according to the authority. A larger port means more freight on the roads that serve it. Price also gave updates on the Talmadge Bridge project, which the Georgia Department of Transportation runs.
- Port jobs for graduates. The authority’s YES+ program offers recent high school graduates mentoring, apprenticeships and on-the-job training.
- Help with housing. The authority is giving $6 million to a local workforce housing initiative. The release says it has helped more than 230 Savannah-area families repair, buy or build a home since September 2023.
The Corps’ permit decision document was not published online when this story was written. We will add the permit’s conditions when the Corps’ Savannah District releases them.
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