HOUSTON, Sept. 20, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced that the Port of Houston Authority (PHA) will receive almost $14.6 million of the nearly $142 million allocation in Round 5 federal port security grants. The PHA will use the funds for intelligent video software for surveillance cameras, access control on the north side of the PHA's Turning Basin, Manchester, and Care terminals, and the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems at Care and the terminals along the south side of the Turning Basin. All of the funded projects are targeted for completion by December 2007.
To date, the PHA has been awarded a total of $31.5 million in federal port security grants. The grants are awarded as reimbursements for expenditures on port security-related equipment and services. The PHA has an on-going, cohesive port security program involving surveillance, technology, infrastructure, and communications equipment.
"The announcement of these grant funds is great news not only for the Port of Houston Authority but the entire Houston region," stated Jim Edmonds, PHA Chairman. "These grant funds will be put to good use to ensure safety and security at the port and protect the free flow of trade through our facilities. The port authority is fortunate to have friends like our Texas delegation on Capitol Hill. I commend our congressional leaders, the U.S. Coast Guard, and all of our port security partners at the local, state and federal levels for their outstanding efforts to raise the importance of port security as a national priority."
Project 1 -- Intelligent Video Software for Cameras
The first priority project is the installation of 36 video processing units (VPUs) at the Port Coordination Center (PCC). This project is PHA's top priority because each VPU has the capability to monitor surveillance cameras in real time to automatically detect security incidents or potentially threatening events taking place within the view of the cameras. Also known as Intelligent Video Surveillance, each VPU can process and view up to four cameras and all video will be transmitted to the PCC from each terminal via the Wide Area Security Information Network (WASIN). The estimated cost is $1.5 million. The PHA had requested $1.2 million in grants.
Project 2 -- Access Control at the North Turning Basin
The second project in priority is the installation of 82 electronic card readers, 39 CCTV cameras, 13 electronic gate arms, seven bi-fold speed gates, seven swing arm gates, 32 intercom stations, 54 lights and poles with three security stations in the North Turning Basin area. This project is PHA's second priority because it addresses directives identified in the U.S. Coast Guard regulations for access control by providing the capability of controlling access into the controlled area and restricted area of the North Turning Basin, properly and consistently identifying personnel who need to enter these areas, and keeping a record of all persons entering and leaving the areas. To optimize savings in the overall cost of this project, PHA requested that all Turning Basin developments be combined into this project, which would, in turn, realize a savings in the contracts cost category. In addition, as combined projects, the PHA would be willing to increase its participation from 10 percent in stand-alone projects to 20 percent in combined projects. The estimated combined cost of the project is $9.7 million. The PHA had requested $7.77 million in grants.
Project 3 -- Manchester and CARE Access Control/CARE and Southside CCTV
The third project is the installation of gatehouses and electronic access control at entrance gates to the restricted areas of the Manchester Terminal and Care Terminal and CCTV surveillance at Care Terminal and along the south side of the Turning Basin. This project addresses directives identified in the U.S. Coast Guard regulations, including:
a) Monitoring by providing the capability of automatic intrusion-
detection and surveillance at the Care and the Turning Basin's
south side terminals, and
b) Access control by providing the capability of controlling access
into the waterfront restricted area of Manchester and Care
terminals, to properly and consistently identify personnel who
need to enter these areas and keep a record of all persons
entering and leaving the areas.
The estimated cost of the project is $6.177 million. The PHA's grant application had included a request for $5.559 million.
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, more than 6,600 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage, and sixth largest in the world. The Port Authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com
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