Port Houston has announced the award of $25 million in grant funding received from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD).
Port Houston’s proposal is one of 11 large Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) grant projects selected from across the nation, aimed at enhancing the safety, reliability, and resiliency of ports.
These planned improvements will be carried out in part with the cooperation of elevator lessee Hansen Metro Elevation, affiliated with Hansen-Mueller Co., a long-time Port Houston user and collaborative participant in this application, and Nautilus International Holding Corporation.
Funding will be used to upgrade a Port Houston grain elevator, allowing farmers to transport their grain more efficiently to national and international markets.
The project includes a new high-efficiency grain truck receiving system, a more efficient truck loadout system, and a new outbound conveying system, capable of loading a 30,000-tonne vessel with a 75 per cent reduction in loading time.
These improvements are planned to increase the grain elevator’s throughput capacity from 700,000 tonnes per year (TPY) to 2,100,000 TPY, providing an anticipated economic benefit of approximately $255 million for the local community.
These infrastructure updates are also expected to result in a significant reduction in emissions and improved safety for the area, largely through eliminating the use of heavy-duty trucks, currently needed to transfer outbound product to ship berth.
Removing these trucks from the operation will result in improved environmental quality for nearby residents and workers around the project site, by reducing emissions by an estimated 32 per cent or 13,710 tonnes over 30 years.
A new high efficiency dust collection system will also be installed to replace the existing baghouse system. These improvements, with integrated explosion suppression systems, should operate more efficiently and improve housekeeping, and reduce dust emissions and overall carbon emissions.
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“This important project will improve the efficiency and competitiveness of United States grain exports, improve air quality by reducing dust and truck emissions, and support neighbouring communities through stormwater improvements,” said Charlie Jenkins, Port Houston CEO.
“We are once again grateful for the work of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration and the Port Infrastructure Development Program, supporting Port Houston’s mission of moving the world and driving regional prosperity.”
Earlier this September, Charlie Jenkins formally accepted the post of CEO of Port Houston succeeding long-time Executive Director Roger Guenther.
