Port of New Orleans President and CEO Brandy D. Christian shared highlights of the Port’s new Strategic Master Plan for the gateway as the keynote speaker for the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce’s First Quarter Luncheon this month.
“This is more than a maritime plan and it is not just a Port plan,” explained Christian. “It is your plan – a Gateway Master Plan – a strategic roadmap that can help ensure the region’s prosperity over the long-term across industries, both on and off Port property.”
The Plan incorporates Port NOLA’s assets throughout its three-parish jurisdiction, including Jefferson, Orleans and St. Bernard. It identifies some primary challenges, including finite resources of land, capital and facilities, as well as growing competition for key commodities. It also identifies even more opportunities for success: market data indicate plastic resins produced in the Gulf region are on the rise; the new alignment with the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad Corporation provides seamless multimodal solutions; and partnering with the state and economic development organizations will attract new freight-based businesses to the region.
“Our future will be that of a state-of-the-art integrated urban port with an urban railroad, which enables us to think more comprehensively about freight movement and our multimodal efforts,” said Christian.
The primary objectives laid out in the Gateway Master Plan are to:
Operate Efficiently: Optimize use of unsurpassed connectivity to efficiently move global cargos by supporting diverse business lines and land uses capable of adapting to constantly changing market trends.
Capitalize on Geography & History: Further establish our place as the premier Gulf Coast hub with strategic investments in infrastructure, access and development to capture new markets and expand cargo capacity, while enhancing New Orleans as a vibrant experience for cruise and tourism.
Strengthen Relationships and Connect Our Stakeholders: One way this has already been accomplished is how the Port sought input from many external stakeholders at the beginning of the Master Plan process. Now, those same stakeholders are reviewing the draft of the Plan to ensure their feedback was implemented.
Develop Sustainably: Together with our stakeholders and the community, be a proactive and responsible organization ever striving for a balance while enhancing the economy, society and environment.
Each of the Port’s primary business lines, Cargo, Rail, Cruise and Real Estate, have been carefully considered. As such, the Port NOLA Strategic Master Plan charts a vision for the next 20 years of Port operations and provides a roadmap of strategies for growth, including recommendations for capital investments, operational changes, policies and strategic initiatives.
Port NOLA is currently circling back to the industry and community stakeholders it met with at the beginning of the process. The final Gateway Master Plan is expected to be released later this spring.
Published: March 28, 2018
