MPA Recommends Sea Point for Phase One of Millennium Port

The Milennium Port Authority (MPA) voted unanimously 9-0 to recommend New Orleans-based Sea Point as an element of the first phase of the Louisiana Millenium Port System. Once completed, the Sea Point Project is expected to generate $2.9 billion in annual economic impact and thousands of jobs in South Louisiana, according to a joint study by timothy Ryan of the University of New Orleans and Dr. Loren Scott of Louisiana State University. In addition, Ryan and Scott estimate that the Sea Point Project will create 18,000 new jobs by 2013. The project will also generate more than $39 million in annual state tax revenue and nearly $31 million in annual local tax revenue within 10 years of the beginning of operations. The Sea Point Facility will be constructed 12 miles above the Head of Passes on the Mississippi River. Once operations, Sea Point will serve as a transfer station that will allow large, ocean-going vessels to load and unload their container cargo at the mouth of the Mississippi River. This strategy will save shipping lines valuable time and expense. Container cargo from these large vessels will be sorted into barges that can be transported to ports throughout Louisiana. This cargo can be redistributed to inland destinations by truck, rail or barge.