Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), Murray County, and CSX Transportation have signed a memorandum of agreement establishing the Appalachian Regional Port (ARP) in Chatsworth, Georgia, with a service area that will include northern Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and parts of Kentucky.

Located in Chatsworth, Georgia, “This new inland terminal will open the door for economic opportunity and job creation for Northwest Georgia and the region,” said Deal. “By providing a direct link to the Port of Savannah, the Appalachian Regional Port will create and expand international markets for businesses, and further the economic success of the Southeastern U.S.“

The new inland intermodal port will sit on 42 acres in Northwest Georgia’s Murray County and feature on-terminal rail. The site is adjacent to U.S. 411 and features easy access to Interstate 75. The facility will handle import, export and domestic cargo.

The ARP will open by 2018 with an annual capacity of 50,000 containers. A 10-year development plan will then double that capacity, according to forecasts. Operated by the Georgia Ports Authority, the facility will deliver goods more efficiently to the GPA’s Garden City Terminal, the second busiest container port on the U.S. East Coast behind the Port of New York-New Jersey.

“This new inland port is located in an industrial belt, which includes the production and export of carpet and flooring, automobiles and tires,” said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz. “The Appalachian Regional Port will make those commodities more competitive in the global market by saving port customers money on inland transit costs. Moving more containers to rail will also reduce carbon emissions.”

The Appalachian Regional Port will be Georgia’s second facility of this kind. In 2013, Gov. Deal, Cordele Intermodal Services, and the GPA signed a memorandum of understanding for the Cordele Inland Port. The Cordele facility handles cotton, clay, lumber and other agribusiness exports for customers in Georgia, Alabama and Florida.