Posted on July 5, 2016
By Brian Trahan, Southwest Daily News
Tenants at the Port
Six tenants continue to make up the lease agreements at the West Cal Port. Among those are Devall Enterprises, Orion Marine Group, Tubal-Cain Marine Services, Cemex Concrete of Louisiana, S.T.A.R. Concrete Pumping and River Barge Works. These six businesses make up the bulk of the revenue brought into the port through the lease agreements. Part of revenue comes from Federal grants or partnership funding through the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury. Of the current tenants, Devall Enterprises has been located at the port for the longest period of time — 10 years. Interesting note on Cemex, the concrete company is doing extensive work with the Sempra LNG project in Cameron Parish.
Ups and Downs and the Future
One of the challenges the port has faced recently is the fact that barge traffic down the Intracoastal Waterway due to the downturn in the oil industry. However, upcoming traffic issues crossing from Lake Charles into West Calcasieu in 2017-18 may open up an opportunity. Once the Department of Transportation and Development begins construction on the I-210 bridge, truck traffic carrying cargo to industry in West Cal will decrease. As a shallow water marine services port, there could be opportunity for increased barge traffic to bring materials to companies via waterways.
What Port Director Lynn Hohensee Says
“We continue to talk to companies about locating here, but it has to be a good fit for the port. As much as we’d like to grow the port, it’s important to us to have a good relationship with the residents who live nearby.
“For example, there are times when companies have to make a certain amount of noise, so we make sure to do that in the daytime and not at night.
“One thing we want to do in the near future is bring a new entrance road to the port so we no longer have trucks coming and going through the residential neighborhood.”
Source: Southwest Daily News
