More than $39mn has been awarded to two Texas ports for improvements and expansion, according to the US Department of Transportation.
The US Secretary of Transportation announced substantial, state-wide infrastructure funding for the Port Houston and the Port of Corpus Christi, as part of almost $280mn in discretionary grants awarded under the Department’s Port Infrastructure Development Program, which is intended to upgrade port facilities across the country.
Infrastructure funding improves local economies, boosts productivity and competitiveness, and creates jobs, the US transportation secretary said a news release.
Port Houston received $22mn as part of a larger $55mn project to build a wharf and a dock with cranes that can lift containers from ship to shore, according to media reports.
The development at Port Houston will allow the terminal to handle 2.4mn TEU’s (20-foot equivalent container units) annually..
The Port of Corpus Christi has been awarded $17.6mn towards renovating docks at the Avery Point terminal, which is used by several customers to transload petroleum goods.
The Corpus Christi project will double capacity at one of the port’s oil docks and satisfy increasing demand for berth space, as well as to support refined petroleum product exports.
Cancellations from China and Asia will impact March volumes, however, Port officials project record high exports in 2020, according to media reports.