The Port of New Orleans announced Monday that it was awarded $1 million from the Environmental Protection Agency for its Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) Sustainability Management Plan (SMP).
The $1.8 billion LIT will be located along the Mississippi River on 400 acres in Violet, St. Bernard Parish. That’s 17 miles downstream from the Crescent City Connection bridge, whose air draft limits the size of container ships calling New Orleans. The new port is designed to accommodate New Panamax ships of 14,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, the largest to transit the Panama Canal, with initial capacity of 180,000 to 280,000 TEUs, and eventual buildout handling volume of 2 million TEUs.
The project is expected to grow the port’s import and export business and open up intermodal and container-on-barge services. The plan envisions a reach up the Mississippi to 14,500 miles of inland waterways in 31 states, potentially connecting more than 30 hubs including Dallas, Chicago, Memphis, Tennessee, and Canada.
“The Louisiana International Terminal represents economic growth and a commitment to environmental stewardship and workforce development that will benefit Violet, St. Bernard Parish and the entire state,” said Rep. Troy A. Carter Sr., of Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District, in a release.
The project’s SMP will follow the Envision framework developed by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, to achieve sustainable, resilient and equitable infrastructure. This includes significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and provides targets to reach carbon-neutral goals, as well as reduced water and energy usage.
The LIT’s green development plan also synchs with a movement within the maritime shipping industry toward sustainable development and operations that includes decarbonization, alternative fuels and shoreside power.
The EPA grant includes funds for three community-based organizations to help equitably provide workforce development and educational opportunities for the Violet and St. Bernard Parish communities that will relate to LIT’s future careers and sustainability.
The LIT is currently the largest public economic development project in Louisiana. It is expected to generate 32,000 new jobs nationwide by 2050, including more than 18,000 in Louisiana and over 4,300 in St. Bernard Parish, as well as more than $1 billion in new state and local tax revenue.
“Port NOLA is committed to engaging the local community and protecting quality of life for Violet and St. Bernard Parish, as well as delivering a transformational project that will provide opportunities and economic prosperity for all Louisianians,” said Port NOLA President and Chief Executive Beth Branch, in the release.
The project is a partnership among Port NOLA, marine terminal operators Ports America of New Jersey and Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s development arm, Terminal Investment Ltd. The partners have committed a combined $800 million toward the project.
The state in 2024 committed $230.5 million to Port NOLA infrastructure projects including the LIT, following $300 million in federal Department of Transportation funding, which the port said was the largest federal investment in a new container terminal in the history of the DOT.
The federal permitting process for LIT is underway; construction is expected to begin in 2025.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
Related coverage:
AAR sees ‘uncertainty’ for US railroads in 2025