On July 8, New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno released her plans for the New Orleans East Investment and Jobs Corridor, a strategic economic development initiative centered around two corridors. One, the Michoud Innovation Corridor, is anchored around the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility. The second, the Port and Logistics Corridor, will be centered around the planned Louisiana International Terminal container port. Both development corridors are structured to promote private investment, jobs, and commerce around these industrial centers.

Currently, the two policy initiatives in Mayor Moreno’s announcement are preliminary and abstract. The city’s first priority is to identify strategic development sites along these two corridors and improve existing infrastructure. The latter objective is supported by a joint $20 million US Economic Development Administration grant application with Entergy New Orleans for utility improvements. The second priority is to attract private investment through a national and international marketing campaign for the New Orleans East neighborhood. However, specific policies to attract private investment such as tax incentives have yet to be determined.

The Louisiana International Terminal, around which one of the two corridors will be anchored, is not expected to open until 2028. Though construction was originally expected to begin in 2025, the project is still awaiting completion of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) permitting process. On July 9, the day after Moreno’s announcement, the Army Corps of Engineers announced an alliance with the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to commit to an overhaul of bureaucratic processes affecting projects like the Louisiana International Terminal.