brazos river harbor navigation district - Port Freeport

Port Freeport has a $9 billion impact on the Texas economy,while directly generating 11,131 local jobs, three-quarters ofwhich are held by Brazoria County residents, according to aneconomic impact study report.“This study quantifies the significant favorable impact PortFreeport has on Brazoria County, the state of Texas and ournation as a whole,” said Port Freeport Executive Director A.J.“Pete” Reixach, Jr. “The fact is that, if Port Freeport were nothere, there would be more than 11,000 people and their familieswho would have to look elsewhere for employment.”Reixach conveyed such facts Aug. 31 to Assistant Secretaryof the Army John Paul Woodley, Jr. as the top official of theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers visited Port Freeport. Officialsof Port Freeport and the Corps of Engineers are progressingwith efforts to widen the Port channel as well as deepen it fromits current 45-foot depth. The enhanced channel would helpgenerate further positive impacts.The report, prepared for the Brazos River Harbor NavigationDistrict by Lancaster, Pa.-based John C. Martin Associates,details the substantial economic impacts of marine cargoactivity at the public and private marine terminals at PortFreeport. These economic impactsinclude 11,131 direct jobs with localfirms, accounting for $1.059 billionin personal income; 56,139 total jobs,including indirect, induced and relatedpositions, accounting for a total of$4.406 billion in personal income; $9.032billion in total economic activity inTexas; and more than $396.5 million instate and local taxes.Port Freeport ranks 23 rd in the nation in total domestic andforeign cargo tonnage handled, having moved 33.9 million totaltons in 2004, up 11 percent from the previous year.The growth is attributable not only to expansion of traditionallystrong petrochemical operations but also to diversification ofindustry related to Port Freeport, including food processingfacilities, such as the still-growing presence of American RiceInc. (ARI)/Grupo SOS. The liquefied natural gas terminalbeing built at the Port by Freeport LNG should give a furthersubstantial boost to activity; it is on schedule to receive its firstshipment by late 2007.With a channel depth of 45 feet, soon to be deepened andwidened, just 3 miles from open Gulf of Mexico waters, PortFreeport offers more than 8,000 acres for future development.The Brazos River Harbor Navigation District/Port Freeportserves its customers and stakeholders through development andmarketing of competitive world-class navigational capabilities,technically advanced marine and multimodal terminal servicesand port-related industrial facilities while achieving profits andcreating jobs as a leading economic catalyst for the District andthe Texas Gulf Coast.Since Martin Associates conducted asimilar study in 2003, the number ofdirect jobs increased by 38 percent, or3,041 jobs.According to the latest Corps ofEngineers data, Port Freeport ranks13 th among U.S. ports in internationalcargo tonnage handled, with 28.1million tons of foreign cargo moved in2004, up 12.1 percent from 2003 figures.5 P O R T F R E E P O R T • BRAZOS RIVER HARBOR NAVIGATION DISTRICT P O R T F R E E P O R T • BRAZOS RIVER HARBOR NAVIGATION DISTRICT 6