Port NOLA In The Midst Of $100 Million Expansion At Napoleon Container Terminal

The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) is close to halfway done with a $100 million expansion at its Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal. The port is on track to put four new 100-foot-gauge container gantry cranes into operation in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Work currently underway at the Napoleon terminal includes repairing substructure piles for the wharf, adding new wharf space, replacing fendering along the dock, upgrading the electrical system and extending the landslide crane rail at the Nashville Avenue Wharf “C.”

The $100 million expansion project at the Napoleon Avenue terminal will boost the port’s container handling capacity from the current maximum of 840,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) to a million TEUs annually. The four new cranes are being fabricated in China, with delivery expected in early June. When the four new cranes are put into service, the facility will have a total of nine container gantry cranes.

“With this foundational infrastructure and the arrival of four new 100-foot-gauge gantry cranes, Port NOLA’s terminal operator partners will be able to handle ships up to 10,000 TEUs much more efficiently,” Port NOLA President and CEO Brandy Christian said.

The port anticipates the cranes will be put into service in October, with economic and logistical benefits stretching out years into the future.

“These cranes will be Louisiana state assets that produce jobs, provide economic output and keep Louisiana among the most competitive seaports in the United States,” Christian said. “With just the first pair of new cranes, Port NOLA stands to gain 200,000 to 250,000 TEUs within five years. The impacts are estimated to be an increase of 1,147 total jobs and $3.6 million in Louisiana tax revenues.”