Failed Bayport cruise terminal gets new life by handling auto imports
The Port of Houston Authority is converting its failed cruise terminal into an auto processing facility expected to handle 36,000 imported vehicles over the next three years, officials announced Wednesday.
“We’ve taken this facility and now it’s going to be productive,” said Ricky Kunz, chief commercial officer for the port authority. “It’s going to produce jobs, and it’s going to produce economic growth and benefit for our region.”
The port authority has signed a three-year contract with Auto Warehousing Co. to import vehicles, provide after-market upgrades and deliver them to dealerships. Port officials would not disclose the type of vehicles to be imported, and Auto Warehousing couldn’t be reached for comment.
Kunz said Auto Warehousing expects to create 25 jobs initially and about 150 by the time it is fully operational, not including new jobs among longshoremen, truck drivers and the like. Its first ship will arrive in December.
The Port Author-
ity spent an “enormous amount of time” trying to find an alternative use for the Bayport Cruise Terminal, Kunz said. Rolling cargo was a good fit because parking is already available and vessels can pull right up to the dock. ‘Great repurposing’
“It is a great repurposing of the facility that was initially constructed for cruise business,” Port Commission Chairwoman Janiece Longoria said during the Greater Houston Partnership State of the Port event.
The Bayport Cruise Terminal was criticized as a waste of taxpayer money because it never delivered the promised boost in tourism.
With the new contract, Auto Warehousing will bring the Port Authority revenue as it leases the facility and pays fees for docking and for cargo that moves across the dock.
“I really believe it’s the beginning of something we can expand,” said Roger Guenther, executive director of the Port Authority.
Longoria said it’s part of the Port Authority’s initiative to diversify its business lines.
Another area of such diversification is the expansion of refrigerated facilities on land owned by the Port Authority that has access to the Bayport Container Terminal. Chilled imports
This will ideally attract more chilled commodity imports, such as fresh fruit and produce.
“This is truly a win-win for our region, bringing fresh and less expensive produce to our consumer base while creating additional good-paying jobs,” Longoria said.
As the port continues to grow — container operating revenue, for instance, is up 5 percent year over year — the Port Authority is investing in its infrastructure and addressing freight mobility, Longoria said.
“What you have heard today assures very significant and rapid growth, which is both a blessing and a challenge,” she said. “A blessing because it creates and sustains jobs and economic activity for our region. A challenge, of course, because of the growing congestion in freight mobility and on our roads.”