Posted on March 29, 2018
By Suzanne Freeman, CorpusChristi.com
The Port of Corpus Christi commissioners voted recently to issue bonds of up to $400 million to dredge the Corpus Christi Ship Channel — a project that has been waiting for promised federal funds for 28 years. The new debt incurred by the port ensures the project will move forward to meet the 2021 deadline, which concurs with completion of the new Harbor Bridge and removal of the old one.
“This is a monumental step forward for the Port of Corpus Christi,” said Port Commission Chairman Charlie Zahn. “And for our willingness to do what we as a group have said for a long time is important to the future, not only of the port, but to our region, the state and the nation.”
Commissioners voted March 20 to seek bids for a bond underwriter to handle the issuance of $200 to $400 million for the project. Calling it a “fallback” measure only, the port’s governing board still holds out hope that the federal government will step up with a portion of the money. President Donald Trump included $13 million in his 2019 budget, which must be approved by Congress before it becomes reality. Several port officials followed up by visiting Washington, D.C., to lobby for more money.
The dredging project, which was first approved, though never funded, by Congress in 1990, will increase the width of the 36-mile channel to 56 feet from 45. The depth will also increase, making way for the bigger shipping vessels that now ply the seas.
The need to accommodate SuperMax and bigger ships became even more essential after the Panama Canal expanded for the same reason (ships getting bigger), and after Congress lifted a 40-year-old ban on exporting oil to certain foreign nations.
Since the ban lifted in Dec. 2015, the Port of Corpus Christi has become the nation’s top exporter of crude oil products. It is now the fourth largest port in terms of tonnage in the U.S.
The money would also be used to build new docks, rails, terminals and roads.
Source: CorpusChristi.com
