The unification plan must now go before Galveston's city council for action, which could toss it into a referendum ballot arena. Council will vote next week on the plan, which would give developable land to Houston and needed capital to Galveston.
Katherine D. Moore, director of the Port of Galveston, tells GlobeSt.com that the development of a one main port would service what she terms the impending "Latin American explosion of cargo." She says the Galveston port encompasses 300 operating acres within the city limits and 500 acres on Pelican Island just outside of Galveston. Of the 500 Pelican Island acres, 50 acres have been developed, 100 are planned for development and the rest are in a land bank.
James T. Edmonds, Houston's Port Authority chairman, says the plan "allows the region to begin capturing almost all of the lucrative container shipping business in the Gulf of Mexico." A source in the Port of Houston Authority tells GlobeSt.com that the holding currently has 62% of the Gulf's market share.
The Houston port generates $7.7 billion in annual revenues and is the number one port in foreign tonnage and second in total tonnage in the US. It provides more than 200,000 Texas jobs and 436,500 nationwide. In 2000, Houston's port handled 175 million tons in comparison to Galveston's 6.89 million tonnage.
The Houston port source says jobs and revenues should increase exponentially with the unification. "By merging into one regional port, the Port of Galveston can thrive and become a more powerful economic force for the area," assesses Edmonds. "A merger will bring the Port of Galveston needed capital improvements to further invest in diversifying its facilities and international marketing as part of the world's seventh-largest part." Funding for Galveston port capital projects is to come from earned income from the regional port.
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