Warren County, Miss., Port Commission Eyes New Terminal

Officials from the city of Vicksburg, Miss., and Warren County have made significant progress over the past two years securing land and conducting engineering and design work for a new port complex to be located on the east bank of the Mississippi River south of I-20.

“The property has all been acquired,” said Pablo Diaz, president and CEO of the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce and the Warren County Port Commission. “The entirety of the lands needed for the project is now owned by the Warren County Port Commission.”

The property totals more than 1,700 acres and is located just off Highway 61 and below Entergy’s power facility south of Vicksburg. Once a levee fronting the Mississippi River is built, the port complex will cover just under 1,240 acres for industrial use.

“We’re working on the design and expect to be done with that by early summer,” Diaz said.

Diaz said the port commission is working on a wetland mediation plan for the project, which will require the realignment of Hennessy Bayou, which empties into the Mississippi at the northern end of the property.

The next piece of the puzzle will be funding for the project.

“We’re working to secure funding,” Diaz said. “Working with the federal government and state government. As we finish the design, we could go to construction later this year.”

Diaz added that the port commission is also hoping to secure one or more anchor tenants.

“The project can be accelerated if an investor or tenant decides to move to the property,” he said.

Diaz said the site has everything a manufacturer or industrial tenant could want. There is ample power due to the proximity of Entergy’s power plant, a 42-inch gas line, city water and sewer service, fiber optic connectivity, access to Highway 61 and I-20 and a link to the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Class I railroad.

“That’s a huge advantage, because it’s the only Mexico-United States-Canada Class I that doesn’t need to switch,” Diaz said.

The levee that will protect the port complex from Mississippi River flooding will be built to a 500-year flood level, Diaz said.

The terminal will offer a turning basin measuring 3,000 feet long and 800 to 900 feet wide, located right on the Mississippi River. The site will feature around 200 acres of warehousing and storage space within the total industrial space of 1,240 acres.

The port commission is marketing the site to tenants involved in activities like steel production, aluminum production, electric vehicle battery components, or wood-related or power-related projects.

“Our approach here was to have a large site connected to the Mississippi River, where we could attract a large industrial tenant or several tenants,” Diaz said.

Vicksburg is already home to a large and active inland port, with the Port of Vicksburg located on the Yazoo Diversion Canal, just north of the city. That basin isn’t going away, Diaz said.

“It will continue to be an important part of our community,” he said. “Of course, it’s been full for years, so we see this [new complex] as an expansion of our existing port operations.”

Caption for photo: Graphic shows planned new Warren County Port on the Mississippi River at Vicksburg, Miss.