Port Houston, in partnership with the US Army Corps of Engineers, kicked off the US$1 billion expansion of the Houston Ship Channel, a project that is scheduled to be completed in 2025.
Described as a “generation-defining project,” these improvements to the port will deliver jobs and growth to the Houston region, state, and nation, according to a statement.
“All of our partners here view what some would call problems or challenges as opportunities,” said Port Houston chairman, Ric Campo, but “opportunities to drive our industry forward and reimagine how we tackle these ‘challenges’ in new innovative ways, generating greater results for all.”
Assistant secretary of the Army (Civil Works Projects), Michael Connor stated, “Army Civil Works is proud to partner with the Port of Houston to invest funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to advance the expansion of the Houston Ship Channel.”
He added, “This project is important on many levels, including improving the efficiency of our nation’s supply chains, promoting navigational safety, and creating environmental benefits through the innovative use of dredged material.”
Known locally as Project 11 because it is the eleventh major construction project of the waterway in its more than 100-year history, the work of widening and deepening the Houston Ship Channel is expected to have significant positive economic, safety, and environmental benefit for the United States.
“The sooner we complete and utilise the project that delivers an increased US$134 million annual economic impact, the better,” Chairman Campo stressed. “And ultimately what this means is more jobs.”
