Port of New Orleans seeks $1 billion for expansion plan
The Port of New Orleans, battered by Hurricane Katrina 2½ years ago, will undergo a $1 billion expansion that port officials say will be key to the city's economic rebound.
The port's plans come as much of the rest of the city struggles to return to pre-Katrina conditions. The centerpiece of the plan is a $478 million expansion to the port's container cargo terminal that would increase its capacity, according to a copy of the plan released Tuesday.
The expansion to its container operations would help New Orleans capture some of the projected boom in international shipping in the coming decade and infuse the city with much-needed jobs and revenue, said Gary LaGrange, the port's president and CEO.
"It's critical for the entire recovery of the city and greater New Orleans area," LaGrange said. "If the port doesn't recover and can't compete, New Orleans loses and Louisiana loses."
Hurricane Katrina battered the port in 2005, disabling some of its terminals along the Industrial Canal in eastern New Orleans and causing roughly $165 million in damages, said Chris Bonura, a port spokesman. The port has collected $42 million of that claim and is in settlement negotiations for the rest, he said.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Hurricane Katrina | Louisiana | Gulf of Mexico | Mississippi River | pre-Katrina | Panama Canal | Port of New Orleans | Industrial Canal | Gary LaGrange
The plan to expand the port's container cargo terminal began in 2004 but was interrupted by Katrina, he said. If the first phase of the master plan is completed, the container terminal would triple its capacity by 2012, in time for the widening of the Panama Canal, Bonura said. The canal's expansion, scheduled to be completed by 2014, is expected to greatly increase the number of cargo-container ships in the Gulf of Mexico, he said. Many of those ships would come to New Orleans, he said.
"When you control the mouth of the Mississippi River, that's a very valuable asset," Bonura said.
The plan also calls for a $22.5 million expansion of the port's cruise ship terminals and a $75 million expansion of its break-bulk facility.
The one catch to the port's plans: money. The port has been financially strapped after paying off a bond it previously floated, Bonura said.
Port officials plan to use federal funds and tap the private sector for investors, such as banks and investment firms, who would front some of the capital money in exchange for port profits, LaGrange said. Requests for proposals are expected to be sent out by the end of the summer, he said.
Port officials will also ask the state legislature for roughly $50 million a year to fund the projects, LaGrange said. As lawmakers debate how to spend the state's $1.1 billion surplus, an investment in the port is a good bet, said J.P. Morrell, a state representative from New Orleans.
"There's going to be an incredible amount of port traffic once that Panama Canal widens," Morrell said. "As a port, we have to be poised to take advantage of it."
The port's plans come as much of the rest of the city struggles to return to pre-Katrina conditions. The centerpiece of the plan is a $478 million expansion to the port's container cargo terminal that would increase its capacity, according to a copy of the plan released Tuesday.
The expansion to its container operations would help New Orleans capture some of the projected boom in international shipping in the coming decade and infuse the city with much-needed jobs and revenue, said Gary LaGrange, the port's president and CEO.
"It's critical for the entire recovery of the city and greater New Orleans area," LaGrange said. "If the port doesn't recover and can't compete, New Orleans loses and Louisiana loses."
Hurricane Katrina battered the port in 2005, disabling some of its terminals along the Industrial Canal in eastern New Orleans and causing roughly $165 million in damages, said Chris Bonura, a port spokesman. The port has collected $42 million of that claim and is in settlement negotiations for the rest, he said.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Hurricane Katrina | Louisiana | Gulf of Mexico | Mississippi River | pre-Katrina | Panama Canal | Port of New Orleans | Industrial Canal | Gary LaGrange
The plan to expand the port's container cargo terminal began in 2004 but was interrupted by Katrina, he said. If the first phase of the master plan is completed, the container terminal would triple its capacity by 2012, in time for the widening of the Panama Canal, Bonura said. The canal's expansion, scheduled to be completed by 2014, is expected to greatly increase the number of cargo-container ships in the Gulf of Mexico, he said. Many of those ships would come to New Orleans, he said.
"When you control the mouth of the Mississippi River, that's a very valuable asset," Bonura said.
The plan also calls for a $22.5 million expansion of the port's cruise ship terminals and a $75 million expansion of its break-bulk facility.
The one catch to the port's plans: money. The port has been financially strapped after paying off a bond it previously floated, Bonura said.
Port officials plan to use federal funds and tap the private sector for investors, such as banks and investment firms, who would front some of the capital money in exchange for port profits, LaGrange said. Requests for proposals are expected to be sent out by the end of the summer, he said.
Port officials will also ask the state legislature for roughly $50 million a year to fund the projects, LaGrange said. As lawmakers debate how to spend the state's $1.1 billion surplus, an investment in the port is a good bet, said J.P. Morrell, a state representative from New Orleans.
"There's going to be an incredible amount of port traffic once that Panama Canal widens," Morrell said. "As a port, we have to be poised to take advantage of it."