May 20 - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has revealed USD58.477 million in funding for the the Port of Corpus Christi's La Quinta Channel extension project as part of its 2011 work plan for the Army Civil Works program.
La Quinta Trade Gateway Terminal (Project) is a major component of the port authority's long-term development plan. Located on a 1,100-acre (445 ha) greenfield site on the north side of Corpus Christi Bay , when completed, this fully permitted project will provide a state-of-the-art multi-purpose dock and container facility. Project features consist of the Federal extension of the 45 ft (13.7 m) deep La Quinta Ship Channel , construction of a 3800 ft (1158 m) long, three-berth ship dock with nine ship-to-shore cranes, 180 acres (72.8 ha) of container/cargo storage yard, an intermodal rail yard, and over 400 acres (161.8 ha) for on-site distribution and warehouse centres.
"This is an important achievement for the port. The extension of the La Quinta Channel is a major step forward towards the development of the La Quinta Trade Gateway Multipurpose facility, one of the most important diversification projects of the port," said Mike Carrell, port commission chairman.
The port says that extending the La Quinta Ship Channel will allow benefits to be achieved while enhancing the economy of the region by providing deep channel access to the Port's proposed multipurpose/container facility. It will also support the development of TPCO American Corp's steel pipe mill in Gregory, Texas, the Cheniere Energy'sproposed gas processing plant, and the Gulf Cotton Compress Coop .
Construction contracts for the La Quinta Channel Extension and the Ecosystem Restoration will be awarded before the end of the financial year 2011 (FY11), in September 2011.
Other listings of the amounts provided to various programmes, projects and activities in the FY11 Civil Works work plan can be found at: http://www.usace.army.mil/CECW/PID/Documents/exe_guide/fy11wp_construction.pdf
