State bond sales nets low rates

Special to the News

Updated: Jul 5, 2013, 1:09 PM

Published: Jul 5, 2013, 1:25 PM

Gov. Nathan Deal announced recently that Georgia sold $685 million in general-obligation bonds to fund construction and to make repairs and renovations to existing facilities throughout the state.
“These bonds were sold at very low rates given current market conditions and that translates into savings for Georgians,” Deal said. “The state’s AAA bond ratings enable us to invest in vital infrastructure around the state in a fiscally responsible manner and provide for more employment opportunities for our construction industry, which was hit so hard by the recession.”
The Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission, which is responsible for issuing the state’s bonds, approved the bond sale at its most recent meeting. The bond issues were sold on a competitive basis, with investors showing solid demand for Georgia’s highest-rated bonds.
The state received competitive bids last week and secured rates of 3.33 percent for the 20-year tax-exempt bonds and 1.03 percent for the five-year tax-exempt bonds, with a blended rate of 3.20 percent. The state also sold $163.22 million of five-year and 20-year taxable bonds at a blended rate of 3.85 percent and $94.35 million of 20-year taxable Qualified School Construction Bonds at a rate of 4.02 percent. The federal government reimburses the state for the interest paid on the Qualified School Construction Bonds, which is a designation that was created in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act applicable to state bonds that are issued for K-12 school-construction projects.
The largest amount of funding is to provide $249.355 million for Board of Regents projects at colleges and universities throughout the state. The second-largest amount is $209.505 million for the State Board of Education to provide funding to local school systems for K-12 school facilities. Other agencies that will benefit from the bond proceeds include $38.235 million for Technical College System of Georgia projects, $24.25 million for water and sewer loans to local governments and $26.5 million for Department of Natural Resources projects at state parks. Projects totaling $137.11 million have been designated for several other agencies.
Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s rating agencies assigned their triple-A bond rating with a stable outlook to the state’s general-obligation bonds last week. The triple-A rating reflects the highest rating available.
“Once again, earning the top bond ratings during the current economic climate illustrates Georgia’s continued commitment to sound fiscal management while continuing to meet the needs of our citizens for increased educational and economic development opportunities throughout Georgia,” Deal said.

Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port

The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

GardenCityTerminal — The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

Bryan County News

Updated: May 23, 2018, 1:59 AM

Published: May 23, 2018, 2:00 AM

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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