Posted on March 28, 2022
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — It was officially known as SHEP, the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project and Governor Brian Kemp says now that it is completed, it is a once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment for the state.
“To say that today was a long time coming is an understatement,” said Kemp on Friday as he attended a completion ceremony near the Port of Savannah.
It was more than 20 years before the first feasibility studies were conducted to deepen the shipping channel from 42 to 47 feet. The project ended up costing $1 Billion but Kemp said it’s worth it and it comes at a time when the Port of Savannah has been setting records for business despite a pandemic.
“So business has been going up while the global market was experiencing unprecedented supply chain challenges so you can imagine how much higher these numbers will be now that this harbor expansion is complete,” Kemp said.
Now big ships can make it up the channel which includes the Savannah River to the Garden City entrance to the Port and not have to wait for high tide. Those ships can carry up to 1,000 more containers.
“For ships that are moving inbound, it literally is going to be a 52% reduction in tidal vessels. For ships moving outbound, it’s a 90% reduction, so vessels waiting less time and moving more efficiently,” said Griff Lynch, the executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority.
“But the bigger picture really is the impact it has on jobs, on the community, the state and the nation,” said Lynch.
And it’s not just ships bringing goods into Savannah, but also shipping more Georgia products out to the world marketplace.
“Eighty-five percent of our state’s exports are small businesses,” said Kemp. “So this helps job creators.”
The Army Corps of Engineers was in charge of the project.
Col. Joseph Geary from the Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District said, “there is no deepening project in America that has a return on investment that the Savannah Harbor does. For every dollar invested, $7.70 goes back into the U.S. economy.”
Now congressional, state and local leaders are looking to the future and say that SHEP has positioned the state for years of economic stability and growth.
“Together, we’ve achieved something transformational that will solidify our position as the best state for business,” Kemp said.
