Equipment similar to these being used in Aberdeen Harbor, Scotland, could soon be seen in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. Courtesy photo
The Port of Corpus Christi approved $217 million in bonds for port improvements, including $102 million specifically designated for the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project. After waiting 28 years for federal funds to dredge the Corpus Christi ship channel, the port has decided to move forward with its own money and the $39 million recently promised by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Total cost is estimated at $350 million.
“I’m excited for the port, our history, and for the future with this project,” said port Commission chairman Charlie Zahn at a June 19 meeting when the bond issue was approved. “I’m believing in my own mind that we’re about to get the whole thing done.”
The Port of Corpus Christi is now the nation’s leading exporter of crude oil and natural gas. The dredging project is necessary to allow the world’s biggest ships to fully load at the port. Currently, ships are partially loaded dockside then fully filled by smaller ships once back in the Gulf of Mexico. The cost of ferrying product to the super max vessels can run in the millions.
The Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project is expected to be completed in 2021, coinciding with the opening of the new, much taller, Harbor Bridge. When finished, the channel will be dredged to 54 feet from 47 feet and widened to 530 feet from 400 feet, allowing ships to pass each other.
In March, port commissioners voted to issue bonds of up to $400 million for the channel project. The measure was approved as “fallback” so the project can move forward while awaiting federal funding. Now, it has become a reality.
