Hohensee said that a lot of businesses need a public entity like the port that can immediately provide them with utilities. “It is a great demonstration of public/private partnerships,” he said.
VINTON — Vinton Port Director Lynn Hohensee told the Daily News in a recent interview that, like each port in the Ports Association of Louisiana, the Vinton Port is an economic engine within the community. “Our purpose is to take the resources we have, attract private industry tenants that will bring in tax revenue increases, create jobs and will provide infrastructure improvement,” he said.
Hohensee said that a lot of businesses need a public entity like the port that can immediately provide them with utilities. “It is a great demonstration of public/private partnerships,” he said.
There are 34 ports throughout Louisiana, which is key in a state with navigable waterways that extend to all corners. Those ports can be divided into three categories: deep draft, which account for 54 percent of the economic activity associated with ports; coastal ports, which account for about 38.5 percent; and inland ports, which account for about 7.5 percent.
Last month, Dr. James Richardson, Alumni Professor or Economics and Public Administration at Louisiana State University, prepared an update of the 2012 study of the economic impact of Louisiana ports.
Findings indicate that direct spending by ports and providers of services account for 77,000 jobs – or four percent – in the state. Industries which rely on ports for transportation, like oil and gas, petroleum and refineries, petrochemicals, agricultural, food manufacturing, wood and paper and metals, account for one out of every five jobs in the state. Annually, ports account for a combined personal income of $4.1 billion and a total of $534 million in local and state taxes.
“The common thread is that each of these ports provides services that expand the opportunities available to basic industries in a region, which are fundamental to the Louisiana economy,” said Richardson.