Green light for new U.S. port that will handle 2 million containers a year

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers has granted a federal permit authorizing construction of the Louisiana International Terminal, a major Port of New Orleans development intended to expand the Lower Mississippi River gateway’s capacity for larger ships and growing cargo volumes.

Port NOLA announced the permit approval this week, calling it a key milestone for the proposed $1. 8-billion greenfield terminal expected to have capacity of 2 million container units at full build-out. The project would be developed in partnership with Terminal Investment Limited, the terminal-operating arm of Geneva’s Mediterranean Shipping Co.

, and terminal operator Ports America, which are contributing more than $800 million toward development. The terminal has received $300 million in federal grants. The Louisiana International Terminal is designed as a deepwater container facility with multimodal connections to interstate highways and the nation’s Class I rail network.

Port NOLA said the project would provide market access across more than 30 states and strengthen Louisiana’s role in U. S. import and export supply chains. Plans call for two berths accommodating two 16,000-container vessels, with water depth of 55 feet – among the deepest of U. S. ports.

The port is targeting an opening in 2028 with initial annual capacity of 180,000-280,000 TEUs, with completion over a 25-year period. The terminal is also intended to address a longstanding constraint on container operations upriver from the Gulf of Mexico.

Port NOLA said ultra-large container vessels with capacities above 16,000 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) cannot pass beneath the Crescent City Connection bridge, limiting the ability of those ships to call at existing New Orleans terminals.

By locating farther downriver, the LIT would enable direct calls by larger vessels while preserving a Mississippi River location near Gulf shipping lanes. Port NOLA characterized the project as the only new greenfield container port currently being developed in the United States.

MSC is building an all-new container berth at the Port of Baltimore on the site of a former steel mill. The project is expected to support Port NOLA’s strategy of retaining and attracting cargo that might otherwise move through competing U. S. gateways, while expanding the port’s ability to handle containerized imports and exports.

Gulf Coast traffic was roughly 5 million TEUs among the principal mainland gateways Houston, Mobile, New Orleans and Tampa in 2025. Houston reported 2025 throughput of 3. 97 million TEUs. The port has access to all six North American Class I railroads through the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad.

Port NOLA cited an economic-impact analysis finding that its existing cargo activities support more than $101 billion in nationwide economic value and more than 342,000 U. S. jobs, including more than 122,000 jobs in Louisiana. Liners and Red Sea: Damn the Houthis, full speed ahead!

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