The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority authorized “critical-path” professional services for the Houston Ship Channel expansion project. The expansion of the ship channel, the busiest in the United States, is seen as a driver for improved safety and the future growth of regional and national commerce.
The ship channel expansion work approved by the Port Commission includes critical-path professional services for engineering, design and project coordination. The widening and deepening of the ship channel will allow for economic growth to continue,
…a statement from the Port of Houston Authority reads.
The channel widening, along with deepening in some sections, is the eleventh and next major ship channel expansion project, after the last one was completed in 2005.
The Port of Houston Authority has proposed an expedited schedule whereby dredging could begin by 2021 and the project be completed in 2024.
Additionally, the Commission approved a contract for three new Neopanamax electric cranes for the Bayport Container Terminal, in Bayport’s Wharf No. 5.
The $35 million dockside cranes are expected to be operational in the summer of 2021.
The three cranes will be the tallest to date for Port Houston, standing at 158 feet (or 48 meters) and will be capable of handling 18,000 TEU-sized container ships.
These will bring Port Houston’s fleet of ship-to-shore cranes to 29 cranes in total.
Operationally, our facilities have handled close to 30 million tons of cargo through August, an increase of 7 percent over last year as both container volumes and steel have maintained their upward trends in 2019,
…Port Houston Executive Director Roger Guenther noted during Tuesday’s meeting.
The number of TEUs handled through August totaled nearly two million, an increase of 11% compared to this time last year. Guenther said he expects to approach three million by the end of this year.
Port Houston continues to be among the fastest-growing container ports in the US, fueled by an increasing number of import distribution centers in the Houston region and a robust manufacturing base in Texas.
