The US Army Corps of Engineers has granted the federal permit needed to build the Louisiana International Terminal, clearing the Port of New Orleans to advance a new deepwater container facility on the Lower Mississippi River in the US, according to Port NOLA.
The approval removes a major regulatory hurdle for the project at Violet in St. Bernard Parish, downstream from New Orleans and below the Crescent City Connection bridges.
The terminal was unveiled in 2022 with an estimated cost of $1.8bn, although the latest Port NOLA announcement did not provide an updated project cost.
Port NOLA has previously put the terminal’s planned capacity at 2m TEU, or about 1.2m containers annually, at full buildout.
The latest permit announcement said vessels carrying more than 16,000 containers are too large to pass beneath the Crescent City Connection bridges. Funding commitments include more than $500m from Port NOLA, $800m from Terminal Investment Limited and Ports America, $180m from the Louisiana Legislature, a $74m MEGA grant and a $226m INFRA grant.
The project is intended to connect international shipping with markets in more than 30 US states through the Mississippi River system, highways and rail links, including access to six Class I railroads.
Port NOLA handles containerised, breakbulk and other cargo on the Mississippi River as well as cruise operations. Terminal Investment Limited is the port terminal operating arm of Mediterranean Shipping Company.
Terminal Investment Limited and Ports America incorporated Louisiana International Terminal Holdings LLC in March 2026 as the operating group for the terminal, while Port NOLA remained responsible for its design and construction.