New Orleans seeks funding for port expansion

New Orleans seeks funding for port expansion The Port of New Orleans said securing funding for the second phase of the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal topped a legislative agenda adopted by its Board of Commissioners Wednesday.
   During an upcoming special session of the Louisiana Legislature, which Gov. Bobby Jindal plans to call prior to the regular session convening on March 31, the port will seek a commitment of $250 million for expansion of the terminal, which first opened in 2004 with a capacity of about 366,000 TEUs. The expansion would boost capacity by almost 200,000 TEUs and add three berths.
   The port said it would enable it to attract additional container carriers and expand the business of existing operators, such as Mediterranean Shipping Co., which has ships calling the port three times a week.
   “MSC is currently one of our largest customers and this commitment could create more than 2,000 new jobs in the region,” said Gary LaGrange, president and chief executive officer of the port. “We are very excited about their level of interest to invest and grow their business in New Orleans.”
   The port is also seeking support of its requests to the Louisiana Bond Commission to give final approval for a cold storage project and Poland Avenue Cruise Terminal
   The new $30.5 million Riverfront Cold Storage Processing Facility would provide a new home on the Mississippi River for New Orleans Cold Storage, which was forced to look for a location on the Mississippi River after silting and the impending closure of the Mississippi River'Gulf Outlet reduced deep-draft access to its dockside cold-storage facility following Hurricane Katrina.
   The port is also seeking:
   ' $6 million for improvements to the France Road Container Terminal.
   ' $14 million for improvements to the Julia Street and Erato Street cruise terminals.
   ' A tax credit for Louisiana importers and exporters who use Louisiana ports. The port said the tax credit would increase exports and imports, so to not impose a financial liability on the state for existing business already in place.
   A study by James A. Richardson, an economics professor at Louisiana State University, determined a 10 percent switch in imports from neighboring ports to Louisiana ports would result in an additional $1 billion in overall business activity, with personal earnings of $222 million and new jobs totaling 6,118. That activity would result in new state tax collections totaling $14.7 million and local tax collections totaling $9.8 million.