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Terminal could generate $200M
Much-needed container area would serve markets all over the world
By Jaime Powell /Caller-Times
There are several influences working in favor of the Port of Corpus Christi's proposed La Quinta Trade Gateway Container Terminal.
Booming container traffic, congestion in current shipping centers and environmental factors favoring this area all put the Coastal Bend at an advantage of making the $400 million project work.
"We believe that that La Quinta's time is now," said Port Commissioner Judy Hawley. "There is a tremendous need for a container facility in the western gulf and the Coastal Bend is poised to make that available."
The La Quinta project has been discussed since 1998 and would handle containers that hold items such as cotton, electronics and vegetables from key market areas including Mexico, Central and Southwest Texas, the Pacific Southwest, Latin America and Asia.
Phase One of the project would cost more than $200 million and would extend La Quinta Channel, build a 1,250-container wharf, reactivate the Union Pacific rail spur, develop a four-lane roadway and create a buffer zone.
The second and third phases would cost $100 million each, adding additional wharves and rail and road access.
The project could generate more than $200 million annually and add 2,500 jobs to the area's available job pool.
"Transportation corridors have always been the economic future for South Texas," Hawley said. "This project brings it home."
Since 2000, container traffic has grown by 150 percent, said Port Commission Chairman Ruben Bonilla. Currently, there are not enough facilities to meet demand.
Port officials are seeking a terminal operator to manage operations and serve as a financial partner. Currently, port officials are talking with at least three companies.
Roads and a rail spur are in the works, as Corpus Christi-based Gulf Compress builds cotton warehouses at the site. Gulf Compress signed on as the first tenant at the La Quinta terminal in March, 2003, beginning what could be a $15.5 million investment in the project.
The port is spending $1.5 million for access roads and rails to the 1,084-acre site from U.S. Highway 181. The infrastructure also includes water, utility extensions and roads, which will serve the entire La Quinta development.
The port is looking for $150 million in congressional funding to deepen and widen the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. The project would deepen the channel from 45 to 52 feet and widen the channel from 400 to 530 feet across Corpus Christi and Redfish bays. It also would extend La Quinta Channel 7,400 feet at its existing depth of 39 feet and width of 400 feet.
"We are very optimistic that we will get that funding," said Port Commission Chairman Ruben Bonilla. "That begins to make the project even more viable."
The port also should have its principal permitting from the U.S. Corps of Engineers in hand by August, which will allow the construction of docks and the dredging of berthing areas, port officials said.
Contact Jaime Powell at 886-3716 or powellj@caller.com
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