Treviño: But for NextDecade we would not be getting the Port of Brownsville’s ship channel deepened

3 months ago 92

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – When Davide Keane, representative for NextDecade, spoke at a recent public hearing hearing hosted by Cameron County Commissioners Court, he failed to mention a project to deepen the Port of Brownsville’s ship channel.

This surprised Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr.

“Surprisingly, neither one of you mentioned it but in addition to the other investment, one of the capital infrastructure (components) you’re assisting and helping pay for is the deepening of the channel at the port,” Treviño.

The two people that had the opportunity to bring up the ship channel deepening project were Keane, senior vice president for policy and corporate affairs for Next Decade, and Ed Serna, deputy county administrator for Cameron County.

Both spoke in the public hearing about a change in the terms of the tax abatement agreement NextDecade has with Cameron County. The company’s subsidiary, Rio Grande LNG, is building a liquefied natural gas export terminal on a 750-acre site at the Port of Brownsville.

The Brownsville ship channel in 17 miles long. The channel deepening project is being divided into two sections. One section is being handled by NextDecade. The other section is being handled by the Port of Brownsville with much of the funding coming from the federal government.

Treviño said the ship channel deepening project deserved an airing.

“I can tell you that going back 20, more than 20 years, when I was mayor of Brownsville, that was something that we were working on back then and up until this point. An extremely expensive project and it was difficult to find enough federal funding,” Treviño said.

“Had NextDecade not committed, and I believe the number is $150 or $180 million on your part… if it wasn’t for that, and in addition to every other funding (source), that deepening project would not have come to fruition.

“So that’s something that I think also needs to be well well-known and informed for the public.”

NextDecade’s Keane responded: “It’s a little bit more than that.”

Cameron County Commissioner David Garza then asked Keane to explain how much NextDecade is investing in the deepening of the ship channel.

“It’s probably about $400 to $500 million. And it takes the port from the channel from 42 feet to 52 feet.”

Garza said this is significant.

“It allows the port to be able to handle such traffic as container ships and things of that sort. Which today we can’t, correct?” Asked Garza.

“That’s correct,” Keane replied.

Trevino agreed.

“It (container ships) is an area of traffic that we, that the port, cannot handle at the moment and by doing so, it will obviously expand the commercial traffic and hopefully bring in other other related industries that will help maintain and increase the port’s commercial capacity.”

The next speaker at the public hearing was Brownsville Navigation District board member John Wood. He said he was the Port of Brownsville’s point person for the channel deepening project.

“You asked the question about the deepening of the channel and NextDecade’s participation there. It is a public private partnership. The only one in the United States with the Corps of Engineers, with the federal government on a channel deepening project,” Wood said.

“There are only two others and they’re in the interior of the United States. So we had a lot of work with Corps of Engineers to work through. On how they’re going to handle this.”

Wood added: “I don’t know what the actual dollar figure is for the contract that NextDecade has with Great Lakes, the dredging company. But I can estimate from what we’re going to have, with the portion the port’s going to be doing with the Corps. I can estimate it’s going to be well over $400 million. Now I know Mr. Keane just mentioned $400 million plus, maybe $500 million. And it could very well be. So there’s a tremendous amount of money going into the area.”

Gomez’s perspective

The Rio Grande Guardian asked about the deepening of the ship channel in a recent podcast with Port of Brownsville Deputy Port Director Arturo Gomez.

Gomez said: “So, the existing channel, the existing draft of the channel is 42 feet. We’ve been authorized to dredge up to 52 feet. These additional ten feet are a game changer.”

Gomez then explained the history of the project and how it is proceeding.

“Really this whole process started almost two decades ago, working a lot with the US Army Corps of Engineers. However, when the LNG facilities came into the picture, they have a configuration of vessels that required the additional draft.

“So, the project is divided in two phases. Phase one, which will be a private sector investment, which is through Rio Grande LNG/NextDecade, I think it’s in the range of the $400 million mark. That’s underway. It should be done in the next three years.

“But parallel to phase one, phase two… I mean, it’s not one before the other, they’re working side by side. … this is a US Army Corps of Engineers and the Port of Brownsville investment. That is underway as well.

“Both projects began around December and we’re thinking that by January 2027, around then, the channel will reach its 52 foot depth.”

Gomez said that in conjunction with the project, the Port of Brownsville is going to have make further investments.

“What that also entails is additional investment on infrastructure, because we have existing docks that were built to 42 feet. So, now we have to retrofit our docks to go to the new depths of the 52 feet.”

Gomez added: “Not all projects are important, but this is, I think, one of the most significant projects that we have currently at the port. This is the first time the US Army Corps of Engineers and the private sector have worked together on something of this nature. So basically, I guess Brownsville is a learning curve for future projects around the country.”

The post Treviño: But for NextDecade we would not be getting the Port of Brownsville’s ship channel deepened appeared first on Rio Grande Guardian.

Read Entire Article