The Port of New Orleans is preparing for another record year for cruise passengers and cargo. It’s now pushing more international service as well as local partnerships.
In her first State of the Port address, Chief Executive Officer Brandy Christian said New Orleans operations are strong, and expected to get better.
“One of our greatest strengths is that we offer what I call the trifecta of solutions. We can move your goods by rail, by roads, by barge,” she said.
The port is spending $50 million this year on infrastructure improvements and development plans.
Christian says the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal is expected to set a record this year for the amount of cargo passing through. The Public Belt Railway will be taken over from the city by the end of this year. Plans call for a 3.2-mile public waterfront between Spanish Plaza downtown to Crescent Park in the Bywater. The port’s current tenant in the Governor Nicholls and Esplanade Avenue wharves in the French Quarter will move to another facility inside the port.
“Another exciting record year for cruise. We’re expected to hit record year volumes for the seventh year in a row. We will once again hit our target of 1 million passengers for the fourth consecutive year," she said.
Christian says bigger ships are coming into the port, and direct imports are now available from Brazil and Asia.
