Major expansion of port on the way

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

31 Dec 2009

The Port of New Orleans has some major projects to look forward to in the New Year. The renovations are geared toward taking advantage of the upcoming expansion of the Panama Canal. By 2014 some of the largest ships now sailing the seas will be coming through the expanded Canal from the Pacific Ocean, which in turn could make for booming business for the ports of Louisiana.
Officials say further development of local ports will be necessary to handle the super sized freighters that will head through the expanded Panama Canal.
Port President Gary LaGrange says it starts with $27 million from the State Legislature to purchase giants cranes built in South Korea.
He says that the full local build-out of the port will take about a quarter-billion dollars.
"Extending gate hours and merging work crews and gangs out on the docks and that nature, we think we can probably do it for $250 million," according to LaGrange.
LaGrange says it is money well-spent, since the port will cash in on "booming" business for many years to come.

Source: WWL