The Port of New Orleans has been awarded a $73.8 million federal grant to support the initial construction of its Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) project in St. Bernard Parish. The new terminal, located in Violet, Louisiana, will be able to serve vessels of all sizes by avoiding height restrictions from bridges further up the Mississippi River and taking advantage of the deeper, 50-foot Lower Mississippi River Ship Channel. According to the 2023 State of the Port Address, the terminal is expected to generate 32,000 new jobs nationwide, 18,000 in Louisiana, and 4,300 in St. Bernard Parish by 2050. The $1.8 billion project will be built (and ultimately operated) by a public-private partnership between the state of Louisiana, the Port of New Orleans, and two private terminal operators, New Jersey-based Ports America and Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (through its terminal development and investment arm, Terminal Investment Limited (TiL)). In addition to this most recent federal grant, significant funding commitments have already been made including $800 million from the private sector partners and $50 million secured by the Port for the design of the St. Bernard Transportation Corridor that will connect lower St. Bernard and the terminal to the interstate system. A majority of the public funds are in limbo after the Louisiana state legislature failed to clear it for "priority one" spending, but lawmakers will have a chance to remedy that in 2024.
Read the full post by Liskow attorneys Cristian Soler and James Lapeze on The Energy Law Blog here.
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