Mar 27, 2021   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Port Houston Marching Solidly Into Future

The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority met virtually in a regular session on Tuesday. Port Chairman Campo opened the meeting with an update on the progress of the Houston Ship Channel Expansion program Project 11. “It’s moving from planning and design into execution and moving dirt this year,” he said.

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Container yard activity at Port Houston's Bayport Container Terminal. (Photo: Business Wire)

Container yard activity at Port Houston's Bayport Container Terminal. (Photo: Business Wire)

Chairman Campo then said the next steps are to negotiate the Project Partnership Agreement, or PPA, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, initiate those parts of the project that Port Houston can start, and continue exploring how the industry will contribute to project costs.

The Chairman also emphasized that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has committed to implement its “New Start” authority, and federal appropriations for the first contracts for Segment 1A, before the fourth quarter of this year. He also highlighted the significant public interest in the Project 11 microsite https://www.expandthehoustonshipchannel.com/.

In his operational update, Executive Director Roger Guenther reported that cargo volumes in March have been solid, and indications are that this level of activity would continue through at least mid-year.

He said, however, “not surprisingly,” both container volume and export loads were down in February due to the winter storm. “Production of petrochemical products like resin was hampered because many facilities were down due to the storm, but we think that production will recover soon,” Guenther said.

Commission actions taken at the meeting supported continued investment in growth, including approving a lease agreement with Portwall Partners, Ltd. for resin packaging operations at a 55-plus acre site near the Bayport Container Terminal.

The next regular Port Commission meeting is scheduled for April 27.

About Port Houston

For more than 100 years, Port Houston has owned and operated the public wharves and terminals along the Houston Ship Channel, including the area’s largest breakbulk facility and two of the most efficient and fastest-growing container terminals in the country. Port Houston is the advocate and a strategic leader for the Channel. The Houston Ship Channel complex and its more than 200 public and private terminals, collectively known as the Port of Houston, is the nation’s largest port for waterborne tonnage and an essential economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas, and the U.S. The Port of Houston supports the creation of nearly 1.35 million jobs in Texas and 3.2 million jobs nationwide, and economic activity totaling $339 billion in Texas – 20.6 percent of Texas’ total gross domestic product (GDP) – and $801.9 billion in economic impact across the nation. For more information, visit the website at www.PortHouston.com.