What will be estimated economic benefit be to the area, the state, and the country? The economic impact will reach the entire central US. The inland ports and terminals will increase in volume and tonnage, thus creating more jobs. Louisiana will benefit from additional shipbuilding of the types of vessels that can navigate through the interior waterways. Louisiana land will be purchased for major multi-million square-foot distribution, as well as assembly centers by companies like Walmart, Sears, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, FedEx, and many others. This will help address my initial reasons for starting this entire idea in my Senate district: jobs, private investment, reestablishment of businesses, increasing property values, and reduced insurance costs. How will the Louisiana International Deepwater Gulf Transfer Terminal avoid the scheduling problems plaguing so many other large international ports? Scheduling problems will be minimal compared to other ports. It is on the Gulf itself, and will not require traversing through rivers and cities, nor dealing with fog delays. Katrina and Rita are still in the back of most people’s minds. You’ve stated previously that this port will be safer in heavy storms than competing ports in Freeport and Jamaica. What factors into this? Again, the facility will be built up 40 feet above potential storm surges, and will also serve as a safe harbor for any ship in the area during storms. It will be safer and have less chance of shutdown than where most of the ships are going now in Freeport and Jamaica, where storms are much more frequent. It will be
January/February 2010
One gallon of diesel fuel will move a truck 40 miles and a train 200 miles, but that same gallon of diesel will move a ship 500 miles. fully automated and green-built, with the latest fast-moving technology. Initially, we expect to become the first port of call for about 25% of what is now going through Freeport and Jamaica. We also expect to be the first port of call for about 20% of the larger vessels coming through the Panama Canal, once it is expanded. We’ll be the second port of call when there are labor strikes on the west coast, and for the east coast ports during storms and hurricanes. On a more general note, how do all the inland ports in Louisiana benefit the state in terms of revenue, jobs, etc.? Inland ports will benefit from the LIGTT in all the ways I previously mentioned. In addition, major upper river ports, such as Memphis, will serve as upper river hubs that will draw up tonnage and cascade throughout their inland ports. We must remember that 95% of the population of the US can be reached by water. We must do all we can to reduce our highway costs and increase traffic on our waterways. Now is the time and we already have the infrastructure in place: the Mississippi River and its tributaries, reaching over 50 million people. The general public sees right away the benefits of getting these containers off the backs of trucks, and thus off the roads.
www.inlandportmagazine.com
However, one faction naturally not so pleased with shipping via America’s inland waterways are the trucking companies. What do you say to them? The trucking industry, as well as the rail industry, realize we have to do something to achieve the goals of all of us. And that is to figure out a way to maintain – and sustain – the quickest, safest, and least-expensive way to get goods from point A to point B. Ultimately, if we do this, more goods will be in motion and more business will be enjoyed by all modes of transportation, including trucking. We must not look at each other as competition, but rather as partners joined together to serve the enduser of whatever we are carrying. What good is it to have too many trucks out there that are simply stuck in traffic being beat up by bad roads? I submit that it is more profitable for everyone when we have a proper balance of modalities. What is the next step? The next step is the LIGTT authority meeting to adopt a Request for Proposal format so that we may choose an exclusive Licensee. Louisiana (via ACT699) is offering a major, multi-billion dollar opportunity to the private sector that will eventually control the supply chain from South to North America, through the central United States, all the way to central Canada through 14,500 miles of waterways. IP
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