Project: Bayport TX

1.0 Synopsis

The Port of Houston is a 25-mile long maritime -industrial complex on the Houston Shipping Channel, a few hours sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. The new Bayport Terminal was built to service post-Panamax vessels and to relieve congestion at the existing Barbours Cut Terminal, which was operating at 120% of capacity, with resulting delays of up to 24 hours. Phase 1 of the new Bayport terminal opened in 2007 on 56 acres with two container berths, and three cruise ship berths at a cost of $800 million. Due to the increase in container volume from 2006 to 2008 and warehouse development in the local area, an estimated 719 jobs have been created. When recovery from the current economic recession gains momentum, plans for Phase II of the facility are expected to proceed. By 2030, Bayport is expected to span 526 acres, have seven berths, include an intermodal rail-to-truck facility, and to support nearly 30,000 jobs. But if financial markets and trade don't recover soon, this may be optimistic.

2.0 Background

2.1 Location & Transportation Connections

Bayport is located in the town of Pasadena, Texas, roughly 30 miles southeast of downtown Houston. The facility is 10 miles south of the existing container terminal Barbours Cut. The Port of Houston is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities on the Houston Ship Canal, a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. It is the second-busiest in the United States in terms of total tonnage, and the sixteenth-busiest port in the world. In 2009, more than 7,700 vessels carrying 220 million tons of cargo moved through the Port of Houston.

In terms of international trade, Houston is the busiest port in the United States in terms of tonnage. The following international trade breakout by region was reported by the Greater Houston Partnership in 2006:

• Europe 32%
• Latin America 22%
• Asia/Pacific Rim 15%
• North America 13%
• Middle East 7%
• Africa 12%

Locally, the port is accessed by highway 146 which runs north and south. I-45, which connects Houston with Dallas-Ft. Worth, is eleven miles to the west. George Bush International airport is 32 miles northwest of Pasadena. La Porte municipal airport, a general aviation facility, is 7 miles north of Bayport. There is a Union Pacific freight rail station 14 miles northwest of Pasadena. By 2030, rail service is expected to be extended to the Bayport terminal. .

2.2 Community Character & Project Context

Bayport is in Pasadena, Texas, in the southeast Houston metro area, about 30 miles southeast of Houston. Some of the city's main industries are petroleum and gas, petroleum refining, petrochemical processing, maritime shipping, aerospace, and healthcare. With close proximity to the Port of Houston, the city's local economy is closely linked to the port operations, especially with the new addition of the Bayport container terminal.

The population in Pasadena, increased by 7.3% to 151,960 residents from 2000-2007 averaging an annual growth rate of 1.01%. From 2003 to 2008, Harris County's population increased by 9.7% to 3.9 million and the population of Texas grew by 10% during the same time period to 24.3 million, an annual rate of 1.9% for both the county and the state.

Although employment in Pasadena declined by 4.8% to 30,191 jobs between 2003 and 2007, jobs in Harris County grew by 15.7% to 2.7 million jobs during this period. State employment grew by 15.8% during the same time period with an annual growth rate of 3.7%.

Per capita income in 2007 was $47,788 for the county compared to $37,809 for the state and $21,415 for Pasadena. Between 2002 and 2005, per capita income in Pasadena grew by 5.1% while in Harris County and the State of Texas it declined by 5.1% and 6.1% respectively.

3.0 Project Description & Motives

In 2007, the existing Barbours Cut terminal handled more than one million containers, 20% over the capacity for which it was designed. Delays of up to 24 hours were common for container shipment. Due to rapid growth in international trade that marked the first part of last decade. Barbours Cut was at the brink of gridlock and needed more space to accommodate future demand anticipated by bullish growth forecasts for port cargo.

To relieve this pressure and to expedite turnaround times, the Port Authority of Houston selected a site 10 miles south of Barbours Cut to build the Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal. . Phase 1, completed in 2007 at a cost of $400 million (2007$'s), occupies 65 acres with two berths sharing 6 cranes and three berths for a cruise ship terminal. The latter has not been used to date. Bayport is able to handle post-Panamax sized ships, which are too large for Barbours Cut (18 wide, expandable to 22, as opposed to 13 with an air draft of 120 feet. At the opening of Phase I, Bayport business revenue was expected to increase by $82.2M (2007$'s).

There are plans to expand the facility to cover over 526 acres, offer seven berths, and include a 123 acre intermodal facility. At full build out, Bayport is expected to add 2.3M TEU's of capacity to the Port of Houston. Total costs of the facility through build out -- projected for 2030 -- are expected to total $1.4 billion and The new port will be able to handle larger vessels with less wait time enabling trucking and freight forwarder companies to make faster and more reliable pick-up and drop offs due to reduced terminal congestion and improved roadway connections. There are plans for on-dock rail access at Bayport which will further improve in-transit times and turnaround. For railroads, the additional port capacity also translates into increased volumes.

The anticipated increase in port activity has generated more truck traffic in the local area, putting pressure on the local transportation network. To accommodate this traffic, TxDOT has planned to build a flyover that provides improved connectivity to the Bayport terminal from SR Just plans so far. 146. Port road is also planned to be widened from 2 lanes to 4 lanes.

4.0 Project Impacts

4.1 Transportation Impacts

4.2 Demographic, Economic & Land Use Impacts

With the primary purpose of alleviating vessel and cargo congestion at Barbours Cut, the the construction of the Bayport Terminal enabled an additional 789,000 tons of container cargo to be processed through the Port of Houston. According to a 2006 report on the Economic Impacts of the Port, there are .48 jobs per 1,000 tons of containerized cargo. This results in an estimated 379 jobs which includes truck drivers, dock workers, terminal employees, freight forwarders, consignees and other associated cargo services.

In anticipation of the addition volume coming through Bayport, over 4M square feet of warehouse space was developed in the Bayport Industrial district. According to local interviews, the space was overbuilt and the recent economic recession has slowed cargo movements which is the reason many companies are attempting to sub-lease their space due to a lack of activity. Applying a Houston southeast industrial vacancy rate of 15% and assuming a 10% occupancy rate and 1,000 square feet per warehouse job, results in an estimate of 340 jobs created due to the warehouse development. Combining the two job estimates equals a total of 719 jobs.

5.0 Non-Transportation Factors

Since construction began on Bayport, developers have assembled nearly 20,000 acres of land for future industrial development. The recession that started in 2007 has resulted in a slump in international trade that dampened the prospects for short-term development of these large tracts of land. When recovery sets in, the pace of development and of job creation is expected to step up.

6.0 Resources

6.1 Citations

http://www.portofhouston.com/pdf/genifo/PHA.EIS2006A.pdf

http://www.portofhouston.com/publicrelations/annual.html

6.2 Interviews

Organization

Footnotes