SIMIC

THE Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) has been awarded US$73.77 million by the federal government to support the construction of a major new container terminal on the Mississippi River.

The funding will be provided through the US Department of Transportation's MEGA Grant Programme and will be used for the first phase of the $1.8 billion Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) project. The terminal is expected to handle between 180,000 and 280,000 containers in its first year, with throughput increasing to 1.2 million containers (2 million TEU) per year in 25 years.



"The Louisiana International Terminal will become one of the greatest public economic development projects in Louisiana's history," said Governor John Bel Edwards. "It is an investment that leverages the economic power of the Mississippi River and will expand opportunities for residents and business across our entire state and beyond."



The new state-of-the-art container terminal, located in Violet, Louisiana, will eliminate air-draft restrictions that currently limit the size of vessels that can call on the Port of New Orleans. The terminal will accommodate vessels of all sizes, significantly increasing Louisiana's import and export capacity.



The construction of the Louisiana International Terminal is expected to generate 32,000 new jobs nationwide, including 18,000 in Louisiana and 4,300 in St Bernard Parish. By 2050, it is projected to contribute over $1 billion in total new state and local tax revenue, reports Ventura, California's gCaptain.