The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority met for its regular monthly meeting.
Chairman Ric Campo opened the meeting with an update that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released their FY25 workplan, which includes $33 million allocated to the Houston Ship Channel Expansion, known as Project 11, construction and $98 million to operations and maintenance to keep the Houston Ship Channel dredged.
“Thank you to everyone who pulled together to get this done, including our industry partners, customers, congressional delegation, and specifically Congressman Wesley Hunt and Congressman Brian Babin who worked around the clock to make sure we got what we needed,” said Chairman Campo.
Port Houston reported strong volumes in April, which can be found in more detail via the press release issued on May 19. Operations reported nine blank sailings forecasted over the next six weeks at the container terminals. Despite this, Port Houston remains cautiously optimistic, noting that the number is significantly lower than during previous periods of market uncertainty, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was also announced that the USACE approved the federal Assumption of Maintenance (AOM) for Segment 1B of the Houston Ship Channel (Redfish Reef to Bayport Terminal), in addition to Segment 1C (Bayport to Barbours Cut Ship Channel), which was approved in 2022. This marks the successful conclusion of a nearly five-year group effort and with these approvals Port Houston will save a net present value of nearly $380 million over the next 50 years. The organization is on track to complete the dredging activities in Segment 1C by late Q2/early Q3 2025, completing the Port Houston-led portions of Project 11 dredging. Completion of Galveston Bay beneficial use features is scheduled for Q4 2025.
As it relates to maintenance at the public terminals, Port Houston commissioned 20 clean diesel yard tractors at Barbours Cut Terminal and Bayport Terminal, removing 20 outdated, less efficient tractors from service. The organization is also actively collaborating with TxDOT (Texas Department of Transportation), Houston Pilots and PSEO (Port Security and Emergency Operations) to temporarily improve air draft markings on the Interstate 610 bridge.
