Port Freeport in Texas has received a second round of funding for the Freeport Harbor Channel Improvement Project (FHCIP) from the U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

To date, Port Freeport has received USD43.9 million (GBP32.1 million) in federal funding for the project; USACE has allocated an additional UD24.9 million (GBP18.2 million) in funding for the project, which will allow the port to keep the next phase of the project on schedule.

Phyllis Saathoff, port executive director and ceo, said: “A deep, wider channel will allow for safer and improved navigation of the Freeport harbour channel, while supporting out port and channel partners’ needs for efficient transits using deeper draught vessels.

“Our region will greatly benefit from this project as well as our local, state, and national economies,” she added.

According to the port, the area’s ongoing industrial expansion fuelled by the production of shale oil and gas and the port’s proximity to fast-growing population have intensified the need for this project.

www.portfreeport.com