The Port of New Orleans announced on Monday that it has been awarded $1 million from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) Sustainability Management Plan (SMP). This funding is a $1.8 billion project aimed at expanding the port’s capacity and making it more sustainable.
The LIT will be along the Mississippi River on 400 acres in Violet, St. Bernard Parish, about 17 miles downstream from the Crescent City Connection bridge. This location will allow the port to accommodate the largest ships that can pass through the Panama Canal, known as New Panamax ships. Initially, the port will handle between 180,000 to 280,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), with plans to eventually grow its capacity to 2 million TEUs.
The Louisiana International Terminal is expected to strengthen New Orleans’ import and export business while introducing new services like intermodal transportation and container-on-barge services. This expansion is also expected to connect the port to more than 30 hubs across 31 states, including cities like Dallas, Chicago, and Memphis, as well as Canada.
The project will follow the Envision framework developed by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure. This framework focuses on making infrastructure projects sustainable, resilient, and fair. The Louisiana International Terminal aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, become carbon-neutral, and lower water and energy consumption. This includes using alternative fuels, reducing carbon emissions, and providing shoreside power for ships.
The EPA grant will also fund three community-based organizations to help provide workforce development and educational opportunities for people in Violet and St. Bernard Parish. These programs will prepare local residents for jobs related to the terminal and its sustainability goals.
The project is expected to generate significant economic benefits, including 32,000 new jobs nationwide by 2050, with over 18,000 of those jobs in Louisiana. The project is also expected to create more than 4,300 jobs in St. Bernard Parish and bring in over $1 billion in new tax revenue for the state and local governments.
The Louisiana International Terminal project is a partnership between Port NOLA, marine terminal operators Ports America, and Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s development arm, Terminal Investment Ltd. The three partners have already committed $800 million to the project.
In 2024, the state of Louisiana contributed $230.5 million toward infrastructure projects, including the LIT, following a $300 million investment from the federal Department of Transportation. This marks the largest federal investment ever made in a new container terminal.
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Sources for this article: Yahoo News, Container News.
