Port of Corpus Christi CEO Sean Strawbridge testified at a House panel on Tuesday about funding constraints and delays the port faces on widening and deepening the Corpus Christi Ship Channel, highlighting the need for more authority to execute U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) construction projects.
Strawbridge proposed ways for the USACE to improve delivery of crucial infrastructure projects, such as the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project (CIP) while also speaking on the need for sufficient infrastructure funding at a hearing held by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s Subcommittee on the Interior, Energy and Environment.
“As the federal government considers policy changes in the spirit of improving our nation’s infrastructure, Port of Corpus Christi has sizable experience with how to best implement these changes,” Strawbridge said. “Federal Ship Channels are the main arteries for moving American products to international markets, and the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project is at the heart of exporting American energy and achieving global energy dominance.”
In his testimony, Strawbridge noted that the Port of Corpus Christi is the country’s leading energy port, contributing to half of all energy exports. The port is also positioned to become the leading export hub for liquified natural gas, he said.
“I believe I can speak for most ports in the nation, and certainly the Port of Corpus Christi in particular, when I share a belief that interactions with the Corps of Engineers work best when there is an agreement on project importance, greater transparency in sharing of information and collaborative efforts on in reaching an accord,” Strawbridge said.
The USACE signed a Project Partnership Agreement with the Port of Corpus Christi for the deepening and widening of the port’s Ship Channel on Sept. 9, 2017, and the CIP was included in President Donald Trump’s recently released fiscal year 2019 budget.
The successful completion of the CIP would not only allow for larger vessels to enter the port but would also increase export volumes of U.S. oil and natural gas. This helps address the growing demand for U.S. energy exports, strengthen domestic energy production, and support national allies abroad in their energy trade with the United States.
“The Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project is a prime example of an important Army Corps of Engineers project that has been delayed over and over again,” said Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX). “This project was first proposed nearly 30 years ago, but construction hasn’t started yet.”
Furthermore, he noted, the cost of the project has doubled since it was first authorized to more than $327 million from $188 million.
“This widening and deepening project is not only important to Corpus Christi but the entire country, as the port is the largest energy exporter in the nation,” Farenthold said.