Dallas Officials, Panama Canal Authority Sign Historic Pact

DALLAS-This morning, City of Dallas leaders signed a historic agreement with the Panama Canal Authority to clear yet another major hurdle to establish an inland port in the southern sector.

Dallas councilman Bill Blaydes, project chairman of the NAFTA Trade Corridor Coalition, local elected and appointed officials and the Panama Canal executives formalized a pact to strengthen a proposal to seat a hub for international trade and commerce in South Dallas. The agreement promotes use of an all-water trade route from Asia to Dallas via the Panama Canal, a pass-through for more than 140 transportation routes, and Port of Houston. The inland port plan, once viewed with skepticism, is now one of the most talked-about economic development markers in the region.