The board of commissioners of the Port of New Orleans unanimously has awarded a program management and control services contract of more than US$4 million to HDR Engineering, Inc., for the new Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) container facility in Saint Bernard Parish.
The contract, which is a part of the multi-year due diligence and permitting process, has a term of up to three years.
According to Port NOLA’s statement, progress on the container terminal project includes land acquisition in December 2020, initiation of the permitting process in June 2021, an award to Aecom Technology Corp. for preliminary design and permitting support in July 2021, as well as ongoing engagement with industry and community stakeholders.
The next steps will include consideration and evaluation of a potential terminal operator and financial partners.
The project would occupy approximately 1.4km2 with a 1,066-metre wharf within more than 4km2 of developable green-field property and the engineering and consulting firm HDR Engineering will offer services that include terminal operation and related transportation development, risk management, procurement support, budget and schedule management, according to a statement.
This site, which is located within the federal government’s US$14 billion flood protection system, features naturally deep-draft riverfront acreage, a Mississippi River Channel of 15 meters with the ability to navigate ships with a capacity of up to 23,000TEU, potential to grow Port NOLA’s container-on-barge service, and access to six Class I railroads and to the interstate highway system.
Acreage beyond the terminal site will enhance the project’s economic impact to the US port with space to accommodate distribution centres, value-added and logistics-related businesses, and buffer operations from the community, according to Port of New Orleans.
HDR team members have worked together on large port and other infrastructure projects in the past, including, most recently, the Hugh Leatherman container terminal in Charleston, South Carolina.
Sub-consultants for the contract include Evans-Graves Engineers, Inc, based in Baton Rouge and New Orleans as well as The Advocacy Partners, LLC, based in New Orleans.
