Business, Feature, Freight News, Sea

Brownsville Brazos Island Moves Forward

[ December 13, 2024   //   Gary G Burrows ]

The Port of Brownsville celebrated the kick-off of the second phase of the Brazos Island Harbor Channel Improvement projects.
The Brownsville Navigation District (BND) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 6 for the project, which will deepen the 17-mile-long Brownsville Ship Channel from 42 feet to 52 feet, improving navigational safety and enabling larger commercial vessels to access South Texas.
The Brazos Island Harbor, or BIH, project will reflect the port’s growing role as a gateway for global trade. The project promises to benefit the regional economy, and drive significant economic activity and job creation across the Rio Grande Valley.
The project advances business development while conserving the regional ecosystem, the BND said. An environmental assessment conducted by the USACE found no anticipated impacts on aquatic environments or critical habitats during and after the completion of the project.
“With the BIH project, we are strengthening our role as a catalyst for business growth and demonstrating our responsibility to the community by transforming the port into a dynamic hub for value-added industries, ” said William Dietrich, Port of Brownsville’s director and CEO.
According to the USACE 2022 annual report, the Port of Brownsville ranked 50th among 150 U.S. maritime ports for waterborne cargo, handling 9.1 million tons in 2022. The port witnessed a banner year in 2023 with 17.8 million tons of cargo moving through the port’s docks, a 17 percent year-over-year increase. The BIH project is funded via a public-private partnership with the Port of Brownsville, and NextDecade Corp., parent company of Rio Grande LNG.
In 2019, NextDecade committed to fully fund the US$400 million first phase to deepen the channel from the western edge of its lease site, where they are constructing Rio Grande LNG, to the channel’s entrance near South Padre Island. This portion of the project began in 2023 and is expected to be completed in 2026.
Managed by the Port of Brownsville and USACE, the second phase will deepen the channel from the turning basin to NextDecade’s site. The US$139.5 million phase is supported by US$68 million from the federal the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Appropriations, And US$71.5 million from the Port of Brownsville. The port also secured a US$43 million loan in October from the Texas Department of Transportation to assist with the financing of the project.
The second phase began in 2023 with the dredged material placement area improvement portion of the project. As part of the dredging process, materials collected are placed in approved disposal sites. The dredged material is often utilized for beach renourishment projects led by the USACE.
In August, the USACE awarded a US$104 million contract to Callan Marine Ltd. for the second phase, which will remove about 7 million cubic yards of materials using a pipeline dredge. The estimated completion date for Phase 2 of the project is 2026.

Tags: Port of Brownsville