Georgia Ports Authority has secured a federal permit for a $2.3 billion container terminal on Hutchinson Island, clearing a major hurdle in its plan to expand the Port of Savannah.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the Savannah Container Terminal after a three-year review, Georgia Ports announced Oct. 14. Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2028, with completion expected in the mid-2030s.
The 350-acre terminal will be designed to handle 3.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units annually and accommodate the largest container ships. Georgia Ports says the project will add three big-ship berths and help raise Savannah’s total annual capacity from 7.75 million to 12 million TEUs.
A TEU is the standard industry measure for one 20-foot container. DredgeWire’s report says the project is part of a nearly $5 billion, self-financed infrastructure plan for the next decade. The authority says it approved $4.13 billion in port and inland improvements during the previous 10 years.
The new terminal is advancing alongside the Ocean Terminal redevelopment across the river. That $1.6 billion project is more than 60% complete and will increase annual capacity from 200,000 TEUs to 1.75 million by the end of 2028.
The expansion follows continued cargo growth. Savannah handled a record 504,015 TEUs in September, up 3.7% from a year earlier, while first-quarter fiscal 2027 volume exceeded 1.5 million TEUs.
Georgia Ports President Kevin Price said the Hutchinson Island facility is central to building a 12 million-TEU gateway. The federal permit clears a major regulatory obstacle, but the terminal remains years from service.
