US east coast Jasper 'to take 7 million TEU from west coast'

THE US$500-million US east coast Jasper Ocean Terminal being developed by Georgia and South Carolina on the Savannah River will be able to handle seven million TEU a year, much of it coming from Asia.

But such throughputs have not been seen at rivals LA-Long Beach on the west coast since 2008-2007, reports a Los Angeles Times story on the development of the east coast ports exploiting the Panama Canal expansion at the expense of west coast ports.

The new terminal planned for the South Carolina side of the Savannah River will comprise 10 berths, a turning basin, plus road and rail infrastructure on more than 1,000 acres of the 1,500-acre site.

Joint project office chairman Jim Balloun said he was not sure whether the terminal would be ready to open in by the end of the year. "We have a couple of new governors, and as we go forward in the next year we have some work to do for ourselves. But we also have a big education project to let people know what we've done, what the plan is going to be for this port, and why it's necessary," he said.

"It's all about being prepared for the growth of container traffic that's coming with the Panama Canal expansion in 2014," he said.

"With this new depth, our ability to accept container vessels from the Middle and Far East will continue to grow as the combination of Charleston, Savannah and Jasper establishes the southeast as the gateway to commerce for the major part of America."
(Source:www.schednet.com)