Port of New Orleans looks to build second container terminal

The board of commissioners of the U.S. Gulf Coast port agreed to award up to $300,000 to AECOM Technical Services LLC to evaluate a 675-acre piece of land for a second container facility, New Orleans City Business reported.    The Port of New Orleans board of commissioners agreed to award up to $300,000 to Los Angeles-based AECOM Technical Services LLC to evaluate a 675-acre piece of land for a second container facility, according to local media source New Orleans City Business.
   A second container facility is part of a new master plan the port will be unveiling in the next couple of months in order meet future demands and potentially double the port’s container capacity, Port of New Orleans President and CEO Brandy Christian said.
   Port officials would like to expand the port’s economic facilities beyond its current site, said Michelle Ganon, vice president of public affairs at the port to New Orleans City Business. While there is not a timeline for possible construction, port officials anticipate that the site would be able to at least match the 1.5 million TEU-capacity of the current terminal.
   Ganon said that the port is ready for a multi-year, $1 billion infrastructure project, though “we will be better able to provide an estimated timeline and budget parameters as results from our studies become available,” she told New Orleans City Business.
   The next steps involve the port assessing the site, rail and traffic issues, and related community impacts to “ensure a positive project overall,” Ganon said.
   While the port’s existing container facility can handle current and future capacity, “building an additional state-of-the-art container terminal with adjacent land to attract new logistics-related businesses – such as transloading, warehousing, distribution and light manufacturing – will allow Louisiana and the port complexes on the Lower Mississippi River unprecedented opportunity to grow cargo volumes, capture new market segments and increase economic impacts statewide,” Ganon said.
   Furthermore, the terminal would be able to accommodate the major carrier alliances, and would connect to the Norfolk Southern Railroad and the New Orleans Public Belt.
   “A second terminal would give us both needed flexibility and necessary space and would be complementary to help us realize the opportunity and increase our economic impact for our jurisdiction’s residents,” Ganon said.