Business, Feature, Freight News, Sea

Galveston Invests in West Port Complex

[ May 9, 2024   //   Gary G Burrows ]

The Galveston Wharves Board of Trustees on April 23 approved a US$29.9 million construction contract to begin the first phase of an estimated US$90 million in cargo infrastructure expansion and improvement work at Galveston’s West Port Cargo Complex. Texas Gulf Construction Co. Inc. is expected to begin work this summer to enclose and fill a slip at Pier 38/39. The port is funding the project with cash reserves, largely generated from cruise operations, said Rodger Rees, CEO and port director of Galveston Wharves.
Work in the next two phases, expected to be awarded and begin this summer, will be a US$50.1 million project to enclose and fill a slip at Pier 40/41. This work will be funded with a US$36 million state grant and US$14.1 million in port reserves.
The projects also will result in a new 1,426-foot-long berth from Pier 38/39 to Pier 40/41. All work should be completed in 2026. Future phases will include paving and other improvements.
Victor Pierson, Galveston Wharves board chairman, said it marks the “first time in decades that the port has made an investment of this size in our docks,” and demonstrates the board’s commitment to diversify revenue streams through its 20-year strategic master plan.
“It’s a great day in the port’s nearly 200-year history when we can invest almost $100 million to build up our waterfront,” Rees said. “Since my arrival in Galveston, I’ve said frequently in neighborhood and community presentations that we have to leverage the cruise business to rebuild our cargo.
The port is the fourth-most-popular U.S. cruise home port. Its fourth cruise terminal is expected to be completed in November 2025, when it is expected to bring in about US$10 million to US$14 million a year in additional revenues and hundreds of jobs. “We’ll use these revenues, along with grants, to continue to improve our aged cargo infrastructure,” he added.

Grain Elevator Coming Down
Demolition of a decommissioned grain elevator at Pier 30/33 is expected this summer, as bids for the demolition are planned to be let in May, with work expected to be completed by the end of 2025. The land will be used for cargo handling and laydown. The port plans to use concrete rubble from the demolition as a fill source for the slips, Rees said.
In all, the port will add nearly 30 acres to its West Port cargo area by filling the two slips and demolishing the near-century-old grain elevator.
In 2023 the port moved more than 3.6 million tons of cargo, including bulk liquid, bulk fertilizer, roll-on/roll-off cargos, breakbulk and fresh fruit, as well as wind turbine pieces and other project cargos. As the port shifts away from grain and fresh fruit, it is expanding the handling of wind turbine pieces and ro-ro cargo, including new cars.
In 2023 the port expanded its Foreign Trade Zone in the West Port Cargo Complex to import hundreds of wind turbine pieces in 2024.
Rees said that adding acreage, improving infrastructure and expanding its FTZ will allow the port to meet tenant demand to grow their ro-ro, project cargo and breakbulk cargo businesses. He added the port will work closely with port tenants to minimize impacts to their cargo operations as construction progresses.

Tags: Galveston Wharves