Photo Release -- PHA Promotes Jenkins to Director of Planning and Environment

New Division Added to Organizational Structure


HOUSTON, Aug. 23, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) today announced the promotion of Charlie Jenkins to Director of Planning and Environment. In this position, Jenkins will direct the PHA's long-term financial and strategic planning, capital development programs, facility planning, and environmental programs. He also will serve as the PHA's representative for Houston Ship Channel industry groups and take a leadership role in the advancement of the Harris County Freight Railroad Corridors and Urban Mobility Program, an on-going study aimed at consolidating local rail traffic to increase safety, reduce congestion, lower air emissions, and improve mobility.

A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://media.primezone.com/poha/pages/exec.html

The Planning and Environment Division is a new division. The PHA's other divisions include Administration, Facilities, General Counsel, Operations, Public Affairs, Small Business Development, and Trade Development. Jenkins and all other PHA division directors report to Executive Director H. Thomas Kornegay and Managing Director Wade M. Battles.

"As a world-class organization, the Port of Houston Authority recognizes the need to provide added focus on long-term planning and to better prepare for future growth," stated Kornegay. "Charlie has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to plan and facilitate major port authority initiatives. We applaud his unwavering commitment and look forward to great results from his expanded leadership role."

Since October 2000, Jenkins has been Project Manager for the PHA's Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal, adeptly managing internal and external engineering, environmental, legal, permit and real estate project teams for the $1.2 billion expansion project. Built out in phases over the next 20 years to meet market demand, Bayport will have enough space for seven container ships and a 378-acre container storage yard. It will have a maximum capacity of about 2.3 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units, the standard of measurement in the maritime shipping industry), representing a 200 percent increase over the PHA's current container handling capacity. Three additional berths at Bayport will accommodate the growing fleets of sleek, modern and luxurious cruise line vessels.

Overall, the Bayport facility is expected to create approximately 39,000 jobs and contribute approximately $1.6 billion to the Texas economy through wages and tax revenues. The PHA celebrated the groundbreaking for Bayport Phase 1A with a special ceremony at the industrial site on June 21. Completion of the first phase -- including 1,660 feet of the ultimate 7,000 ft. wharf and approximately 65 acres of the ultimate 1,043 acre facility -- is targeted for mid-2006.

Jenkins joined the PHA in 1990 as Assistant Terminal Manager, responsible for supervising and coordinating terminal vessel and yard operations as well as nightly activities for the PHA's operations, maintenance, police and fire departments. In 1994, he was promoted to Operations Manager for PHA's Barbours Cut Container Terminal where he helped improve service and expense benchmarks to achieve ten percent annual compounded growth. In 1997, Jenkins became Container Operations Manager for the Barbours Cut, Bayport and Galveston terminals. In that position, he managed PHA's container operations staff and unionized labor at the terminals and was responsible for gate, road, vessel and yard operations.

"The Port of Houston Authority is one of the most dynamic organizations in the maritime industry and it is gratifying to be an integral part of it," stated Jenkins. "As my role and responsibilities expand, I am sincerely looking forward to tackling the challenges and seizing great opportunities to enhance the global stature of Houston's port."

Jenkins is a 1989 graduate of Texas A&M University in Galveston where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Sciences. He received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Houston's C.T. Bauer College of Business in May 2004. Jenkins also has completed graduate work in the Port and Marine Transportation Management Program at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is an active member of the Propeller Club of Houston, the Association of Bayport Companies, and the Seashore Community Advisory Panel (SEACAP).

Jenkins is married and resides with his family in the Houston suburb of Clear Lake, Texas.

PHOTO CAPTION: Charlie Jenkins, Director of Planning and Environment, Port of Houston Authority



 CONTACT:
 Argentina M. James
 Director of Public Affairs 
 Office: (713) 670-2568 Cell: (713) 306-6822
 ajames@poha.com

 Felicia Griffin
 Communications Manager
 Office: (713) 670-2644   Cell: (713) 594-5620 
 fgriffin@poha.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 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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Director of Planning and Environment

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