"[The founders of the port] would be awestruck by the realization of their dream," says Tom Kornegay, executive director for the Port of Houston. With traffic exceeding 6,600 vessels, the port has evolved into one of the busiest waterways in the nation. It ranks first in the US in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage and sixth largest facility in the world.
With nearly a century behind it, port executives are looking toward the future: containerization. "Container shipments have been growing steadily," Kornegay says. For the first nine months of this year, the port handled 1.9 million containers, a 12% increase over the 902,852 in 2003.
Kornegay tells GlobeSt.com that the port is expected to post 10% annual growth of container shipments in the coming years and possibly even more as more phases of the Bayport Terminal are completed. The first phase of the terminal broke ground earlier this year and will be completed in June 2006.
"We're not expecting that growth to slow down any time soon, especially since more Asian cargo is coming through Houston rather than West Coast ports," Kornegay says. Previously, the port's biggest trading partner was Europe, which continues to be a major shipper.
According to Kornegay, the second phase of the Bayport Terminal will likely get under way as soon as the first phase is completed. The plan calls for expanding expansion of Port Road; adding a second cruise terminal; building private tourist facilities, which could include a hotel; enlarging the container terminal with additional wharf and container storage; and developing the first half of the rail yard.
Moreover, the port is pursuing cruise service. Currently, Norwegian Cruise Lines is keeping the cruise berth busy with seven-day Caribbean cruises. Future growth could include three cruise berths, Kornegay says.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
