2018 was an exciting year for the Port of South Louisiana. Perhaps the most important milestone of the year was the endorsement of the proposal to deepen the main channel of the Mississippi River to 50 feet by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

In August, the Corps determined the increase of the river via dredging from Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico would result in average annual benefits of more than $100 million to the nation’s economy, compared to average annual costs of $17.7 million.

The Mississippi River is the second most productive river transportation system in the world, behind only the Yangtze River in China, so it is crucial that improvements be made to continue that success and the benefits to our country.

The next step toward the dredging of the Mississippi River is up to Congress acting on the Corps’ recommendation to appropriate $237 million in funding in the 2019 fiscal year budget. With this recommendation, we are closer to seeing the dredging of the river become a reality.

We had two large project announcements this year, both big wins for the Port of South Louisiana and St. James Parish.

In April, a site in St. James was selected for a $9.4 billion chemical manufacturing complex for Formosa Petrochemical Corp. The facility will be operated under its subsidiary and Louisiana registered company FG LA, LLC to produce ethylene, propylene, ethylene glycol, and associated polymers.

Then in November, Wanhua Chemical Group Co. Ltd. announced the development of a $1.25 billion chemical manufacturing complex in Convent. Construction of the plant, which will produce methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2021.

The Port of South Louisiana welcomes both firms into our district and we look forward to assisting them in the construction and operation of the new facilities.

This year, the Port of South Louisiana also celebrated the 25th anniversary of operations of our transshipment center, Globalplex Intermodal Terminal. Founded in March 1992, Globalplex is currently a 335-acre multipurpose terminal handling, on average, 1.1 million tons annually.

Present tenants of Globalplex are Evonik, Pinnacle Polymers, NATCO, ADM, CRC, Barton Mines, Baumer Foods, Lafarge Holcim and Associated Terminals.

Globalplex’s transformation into a world-class facility has been remarkable. The Port of South Louisiana has invested over $104 million in construction, upgrades and improvements to the terminal and we continue to support new additions that will attract future tenants and users.

The Port of South Louisiana Executive Regional Airport has seen an increase in traffic thanks to many executives and contractors preferring it as an alternative to landing at and driving from the Baton Rouge and New Orleans airports and, as a result, plans and projects were developed this year to improve the terminal.

For instance, upgrades slated for next year are: the entire length of the airport’s runway will be completely resurfaced; the construction of a new T-hangar for private and business usage will begin; and airport security will be enhanced with an expansion of perimeter fencing and additional camera locations.

The Port of South Louisiana is actively engaged in supporting the transformation of our airport into a technologically sound and safe travel option for regional business clientele.

With 2018 behind us, we give thanks for the successes we have achieved and we look forward to the challenges of the year to come.

Paul Aucoin is executive director of the Port of South Louisiana. For more information, call 985-652-9278.