LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / April 14, 2000

VACHERIE – Port of South Louisiana Executive Director Joseph Accardo told the general membership meeting of The Chamber River Parishes Council that the port stands ready to assist local business and industry.

“We’re here to facilitate the movement of cargo up and down the river,” Accardo said.

Accardo was the featured speaker at the Chamber’s monthly meeting, this one at Oak Alley Plantation. He reviewed recent developments in theexpansion of the general cargo dock at Globalplex in Reserve and also presented facts illustrating the importance of the ports in Louisiana to the state as a whole.

The Port of South Louisiana moved 67.2 million tons of exports, 56.3 milliontons of imports and 121.7 tons of domestic shipping, for a total of 245.3million tons of cargo during 1999 alone.

The port, first established in 1960, moves 60 percent of all U.S. grainexports, serving 29 states in the American heartland. The largest port in theWestern Hemisphere, it ranks third in the world in tonnage of cargo handled behind Rotterdam and Singapore.

The Port of South Louisiana has eight grain elevators, works with 4,300 ships and 100,000 barges per year, with 28 barge fleeting operations and five mid-stream loading operations, Accardo related.

One in eight jobs in Louisiana is port-connected, Accardo said, citing a UNO study. These jobs develop into $1.655 billion in payroll earnings, 28 percentof the state’s gross product and $395 million in tax earnings.

Accardo also discussed the general cargo dock, in the midst of expanding from 410 feet in length and 44 feet in width to 660 feet in length and 205 feet in width. With two gigantic Manitowac cranes, it can handle Panamax-sized vessels.

The master plan for future development at Globalplex includes a rail transit center, warehouses, open laydown pads and a new headquarters building.

The port acquired the former Godchaux-Henderson refinery in 1992 and is transforming the site into a world-class intermodal facility. Long-range plansinclude a direct link to Interstate 10 and the St. John Airport as well,according to that master plan.

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