Port Houston has secured a $48 million federal grant from the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) to facilitate the expansion of the Bayport Container Terminal.
This funding was awarded through the port infrastructure development program and will be supplemented by approximately $56 million in matching funds from the port.
Development plans include the construction of a new 47-acre (19-hectare) container yard and the installation of a new exit gate. Port Houston remarked that these projects are designed to manage forecasted growth in demand for goods movement while increasing operational efficiency.
The port said it expects terminal capacity to increase by 440,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).
Construction of a new east exit gate aims to reduce congestion, which the port calculated will save more than 11 million truck hours over the life of the project.
Port Houston stated it is currently the fifth largest container terminal in the US. It added that the port's container volume has grown faster than at any other major national port over the past 10 years.