By Stacey Tinsley, Bossier Press-Tribune
The North Bossier Lunch Group met for the first time this year on Wednesday January 25, 2023, with guest speaker at the meeting was Eric England, executive director of The Port of Caddo-Bossier.
England briefly discussed the history of the port and what the port brings to our area in terms of our local economy.
“Collectively The Port of Caddo-Bossier partners with both our congressional delegation and our state legislative delegation. What we are focused on is dollar investment and job creation. While private companies have return on investment and profit goals, we measure our results in job quality investments,” said England.
The 3,200-acre Port of Caddo-Bossier is an industrial park and inland multi-modal transportation and distribution center located at the head of the navigation channel on the Red River Waterway in Northwest Louisiana, about four miles south of the Shreveport city limits.
The Port of Caddo-Bossier’s unique location advantage allows the port to provide their tenants a link to both domestic and international markets via the Mississippi River (the nation’s largest river waterway system) and the Gulf of Mexico Intracoastal Waterway.
Since the 1830s when Captain Henry Shreve cleared the log jam called “The Great Raft,” Shreveport has served as a major shipping point, moving bales of cotton, tobacco and furs.
Today, The Port of Caddo-Bossier is still a major point of river transportation, housing more than 20 corporations who all know how well The Port of Caddo-Bossier works for them.
The Port of Caddo-Bossier welcomed its first load of cargo in 1995 and has received more than 9 million tons of barge freight since that time. In addition, the rail system at The Port of Caddo-Bossier has handled over 8 million tons of rail freight.
The North Bossier Lunch Group’s goal is to bring together men and women in the North Bossier and surrounding communities who want to stay informed and make a difference in the communities where they live and work. The vision for the luncheon is to help North Bossier business owners, stakeholders, community leaders, and community partners network with each other and allow for the discussion of the growth, development, and business future of North Bossier and Bossier City.
