Port NOLA receives federal building permit for deepwater terminal

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has granted a federal permit authorizing the construction of the deepwater Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) at the Port of New Orleans.   

Located on the Lower Mississippi River with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico, the LIT will connect more than 30 states to global markets through direct access to all six Class Is and the interstate highway system, port officials said in a press release.

The LIT will be built to accommodate modern vessels, which often exceed 16,000 containers and cannot pass under the Crescent City Connection Bridge. The terminal will position the Gulf to compete directly for global shipping traffic that might otherwise move through competing gateways, port officials said.

The LIT project is backed by a public-private partnership among Port NOLA, Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), the port terminal operating arm of MSC, and Ports America.

"This is one of the most strategically significant terminal investments in our global portfolio," said Ammar Kanaan, CEO of TiL. "The Mississippi River corridor gives the United States a chance to build deepwater capacity that rivals any port in the world. We're proud to invest alongside Port NOLA and Ports America in a project that strengthens America's position in global trade for decades to come."

Port NOLA currently supports more than $101 billion in total economic value nationwide and more than 342,000 U.S. jobs. At full buildout, LIT is projected to add thousands of additional jobs and generate billions of dollars in new tax revenue across the country, port officials said.