A Big Day for Port Houston, A Big Day for the Region

A $95 million contract awarded to begin Houston Ship Channel dredging

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority met today in a special meeting to consider the first dredge contract for Project 11, the Houston Ship Channel billion-dollar expansion and deepening program.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC was awarded up to $95,375,349 to dredge 11½-miles of the 52-mile channel, widening a major portion of the Galveston Bay reach from 530 to 700 feet. The work includes the construction of a new bird island and oyster mitigation.

Port Houston negotiated multiple options and selected the approach with the most reduction in overall NOx emissions, using more efficient equipment and providing for retrofitting emission-reduction technology. “It’s a big day for Port Houston and a big day for the region,” Port Houston Chairman Ric Campo emphasized after the vote.

During the meeting, commissioners, staff, and other interested parties acknowledged that Port Houston had successfully managed a highly complex effort, as it spearheaded consideration, communication, and collaboration, among stakeholders ranging from local communities to state and national interests, to continue its accelerated timeframe.

About Port Houston

For more than 100 years, Port Houston has owned and operated the public wharves and terminals along the Houston Ship Channel, including the area’s largest breakbulk facility and two of the most efficient and fastest-growing container terminals in the country. Port Houston is the advocate and a strategic leader for the Channel. The Houston Ship Channel complex and its more than 200 public and private terminals, collectively known as the Port of Houston, is the nation’s largest port for waterborne tonnage and an essential economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas, and the U.S. The Port of Houston supports the creation of nearly 1.35 million jobs in Texas and 3.2 million jobs nationwide, and economic activity totaling $339 billion in Texas – 20.6 percent of Texas’ total gross domestic product (GDP) – and $801.9 billion in economic impact across the nation. For more information, visit the website at www.PortHouston.com.