Port Clarifies Commission Decision on Bayport CSPs

During its public meeting on Monday, January 26, the Port of Houston Authority commission rejected all competitive sealed proposals that had been received for the potential negotiation and awarding of a contract for construction of the container yard at the Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal. The commissioners determined that obtaining new CSPs for this project would provide the best value for PHA, and authorized re-advertisement for receipt of new CSPs. The decision does not affect the overall construction schedule of the facility. The container wharf contract is still scheduled to be awarded in February or March.

On January 5, PHA Executive Director Tom Kornegay and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Colonel Leonard Waterworth signed the federal permit for the Bayport project, marking the critical step in the process to build the $1.2 billion terminal. The Corps has studied the port authority's Bayport terminal for more than five years, reviewing the site location and the environmental impacts the terminal might pose. A group of opponents has sued the Corps and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in an attempt to stop the terminal from being developed. PHA, however, has intervened in the lawsuits to protect its interests and ensure that the project can move forward.

The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, more than 6,600 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage, and sixth largest in the world. The Port Authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange.