The Port of Brownsville is set to get a much deeper shipping channel to allow for bigger ships to come in and out of the port.

Officials said 10 more feet will be dredged out so larger amounts of local products can be exported out to sea.

“Having the channel dredged is critical because in order to compete in the global marketplace, we need to be able to load the same size vessels as other ports in the area,” Casey Carmody with the Biourja Group said. “We are working to develop and rebuild that import infrastructure."

With plans next month to dredge and deepen the shipping channel at the port, the state estimates 800 full-time jobs could be created to take on the project's work

William Dietrich, the director for the Port of Brownsville, said the first half of the dredging project closest to the coast will be paid in-full by Nextdecade LNG.

That same company is building the Rio Grande LNG plant nearby.

“They really put forth the line and share of the funding for this project — they put forward over $400 million,” Dietrich said.

Phase two of the dredging project closest to the end of the channel will use a $42 million state loan approved last month by the state's transportation commission.

Port officials also said it also received $68 million from the federal government, along with a $104 million contract from the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers, for a private company for dredging work

Dredging is expected to start next month in November 2024, and the project is expected to be completed by November 2026.

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