LaPlace, LA — The Port of South Louisiana has committed $9.5 million to build a railroad for Dow St. Charles capable of handling 250 rail cars.
Port Executive Director Paul Aucoin announced the rail project as part of his annual report to the Parish Council at Monday’s meeting. The port is providing the property, and railroad for the project that is just east of Dow, which Dow will lease from the port.
Aucoin said the project is in the engineering phase and they were meeting with Dow engineers to work out drainage issues. Overall, the port continues to grow in its three parish of St. Charles, St. John the Baptist and St. James. Aucoin also praised his 9-member commission, which includes three St. Charles Parish members.
“We have a lot of room for growth, which means again – jobs,” he said.
The port, which represents 54 miles of the Mississippi River, includes 33 crude oil pipelines and 159 natural pipelines. Aucoin said this is important as new pipelines are coming to the facility and also will support growth.
The facility also includes four oil major refineries, including Shell in Norco and Valero St. Charles, as well as seven grain elevators, including ADM locations in Destrehan and Ama and Bunge North American.
Aucoin said pipelines are playing a larger role at the port with the approaching Dakota access pipeline, as well as the Bayou Bridge pipeline project.
The port’s Globalplex Intermodal Terminal is a 177,000 square-foot facility handling bulk cargo. Aucoin said [the] 130-acre certified site is still available.
Aucoin also noted the port’s top rankings, including ranking No. 1 in the Western Hemisphere for largest tonnage. As of 2016, the port handled 294 million short tons among 4,578 vessels and 59,780 barges. The port handled more than $57 billion in exports and more than $26 billion in imports.
He also noted the part is the top grain exporter in the U.S., shipping grain to more than 90 countries.
The port also ranked No. 1 as a foreign trade zone in the U.S for merchandise received. Aucoin outlined the $82 billion in goods received that employed 10,500 people.
The facility also ranked as one of the top energy transfer ports in the nation, again pointing to the four major refineries operating at the port, as well as eight crude oil storage terminals and pipelines.
“We are blessed,” Aucoin said. “Our greatest resource is the Mississippi River.”
He said efforts to continue to seek federal funding to dredge the mouth of the river to promote better access to the port.
Source – http://www.heraldguide.com/details.php?id=19285
About the Port of South Louisiana
The Port of South Louisiana is a 54-mile port district on the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, encompassing the parishes of St. Charles, St. John and St. James. The facilities located within the port’s district consistently handle over a quarter billion short tons of cargo annually, ranking it the largest tonnage port district in the Western Hemisphere, the nation’s greatest grain exporter, and one of the major energy transfer ports in the United States. Along the 108 miles of deep-water frontage on both banks of the river there are seven grain transfer facilities, four major oil refineries, 11 petrochemical manufacturing facilities and several other facilities for a total of more than 50 docks owned and operated by an impressive group of resident tenants such as ADM, ArcelorMittal, Dow, Cargill, DuPont, Marathon, Shell, Nucor Steel, Occidental, Valero, and Occidental Chemical. To learn more, visit us at www.portsl.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on LinkedIn.
For more information about this particular topic or about the Port of South Louisiana, contact Alexandra “Alex” Hernández, Public Information Officer, at 985-652-9278 or ahernandez@portsl.com.
