Groundbreaking ceremony held for Port of Brownsville’s channel deepening project

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BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A multi-million-dollar improvement project to deepen the Brazos Island Harbor Channel is going on at the Port of Brownsville.

The endeavor is Phase 2 of a $139.5 million project funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Appropriation and the deep water facility, contributing $68 million and $71.5 million, respectively.

The improvement project was officially announced during a ceremony held Friday, Dec. 6, by representatives of the private and public sectors.

The event took place under a gloomy day that kept the attendees huddled together as they witnessed the officials digging their shovels into a sand box installed under a white tent.

Normally, a ground breaking ceremony takes place outside but the menacing rain did not let that happen.

This, however, did not diminish the spirits of those who took their time to extol the importance of a channel deepening project that ultimately will bring more commerce and will create more jobs to this region of South Texas.

Phase 2 is another component of a bigger project to deepen the 17-mile long waterway from its existing 42 feet deep to 52 feet deep to allow larger ships to come and go thus adding millions in cargo capacity per inch of draft once completed.

Phase 1 is a $400 million undertaking by Next Decade, a company building a multi-billion-dollar terminal for LNG Rio Grande to export liquified natural gas overseas.

Matt Schaztman, the company chairman and CEO, said they are celebrating the transformation of a new era of partnership between different sectors of the economy.

“Next Decade is committed to investing in the Rio Grande Valley’s future by creating thousands of jobs, helping educate current and future generations and protecting the environment,” Schaztman said.

He said as many as 6,000 people will be working at the peak of the project construction and 600 permanent jobs will stay here.

If everything goes as planned, liquified natural gas will be exported from the port sometime in 2027.

Esteban Guerra, chairman of the Brownsville Navigation District board of directors, described the project as one of the most important endeavors taking place at the port today.

“This is going to take us to another level,” he said after the ceremony. “This is going to make us more competitive in the global market.”

Guerra gave credit to the U.S. Army Corps Engineers.

An USACE environmental assessment found no significant impact from the project.

Although the groundbreaking ceremony was just held, the BIH project began in 2023.

Sand sediment has been excavated by dredgers which collect and place the materials in approved disposal sites along the ship channel.

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