ADVISORY, May 9, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) --
WHAT: Signing of Memorandum of Understanding between the Port
of Houston Authority (PHA) and the Port of Galveston to
develop portions of Pelican Island.
WHEN: Friday, May 11, 2007, 9:30 A.M.
WHERE: Port of Houston Authority Executive Office Building
Museum, 4th Floor
111 East Loop North, Houston, Texas 77029
WHO: Lyda Ann Thomas, Mayor of Galveston
James T. Edmonds, Port of Houston Commission Chairman
Benny Holland, Jr., Chairman, Board of Trustees of
the Galveston Wharves
Jim Gilbert, Economic Alliance Port Region Chairman
H. Thomas Kornegay, Executive Director, Port of
Houston Authority
Steve Cernak, Executive Director, Port of Galveston
Capt. Robert L. Thompson, Presiding Officer,
Houston Pilots
Capt. Chris J. Gutierrez, Presiding Officer,
Galveston-Texas City Pilots Association
Jeffrey Sjostrom, President of the Galveston Economic
Development Partnership
Walt Neimand, President/CEO, West Gulf Maritime Association
WHY: As part of an effort to promote and develop seaborne
commerce in the upper Texas coast, the Port of Houston
Authority and the Port of Galveston will sign an
agreement regarding joint action to create a master
development plan for a Pelican Island Container Handling
Facility. The ultimate goal is to benefit the region's
economy and create jobs. The joint agreement stipulates
that finance and development of the facility will not
begin until after 2015, when the PHA's Bayport Container
Terminal is expected to be fully built out.
CONTACTS: Argentina M. James, Director of Public Affairs, Port of
Houston Authority
Office: 713-670-2568 Cell: 713-306-6822
e-mail: ajames@poha.com
Judy Slocum-McGrory, Public Relations Manager, Port of
Galveston
Office: 409-766-6119 e-mail: jslocum@portofgalveston.com
About the Port of Houston Authority
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 7,000 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage, and 10th 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. To access the port's web site photo gallery, please visit http://www.portofhouston.com/publicrelations/publicrelations.html and click the link for PHA Photo Gallery.
The Port of Houston Authority logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=720
About the Port of Galveston
The Port of Galveston, located at the entrance to Galveston Bay, leases and maintains facilities situated on the north side of Galveston Island and on adjacent Pelican Island. The Galveston Island operations are a diversified mix of traditional and non traditional cargo operations including roll on-roll-off, bulk and break bulk operations, as well as handling over 1,000,000 cruise passengers annually. Pelican Island is combination of undeveloped property, an active rig repair facility and liquid bulk operations. The Port is served by two major rail operators and contributes significant economic impact and job creation to the region. For more information, please visit www.portofgalveston.com.