LOCAL Houston | The City Guide JANUARY 2016 | Page 54

S

...IS FOR SHIP CHANNEL

One of the city’s most important economic assets officially open on November 10, 1914. What was always
a topic of discussion in the 1800s and finally approved in the 1900s, first began as a deep-water port which
is now a host to many cargo vessels. This 45-feet-deep and 530-feet-wide channel has numerous oil refineries
including ExxonMobil’s Baytown Refinery which is the largest in the U.S., many other petrochemical facilities
as well as industries including asphalt, bulk liquid storage, ship repair, fuel bunkering, recycling, cargo handling, warehousing and cement plants. Each year more than 200 million tons of cargo are moved through
the Port of Houston and according to the Martin Associates Reports, Houston Ship Channel-related businesses
contribute to 1,174,567 jobs all throughout Texas. Those jobs helped generate more than $264.9 billion in
statewide economic impact. With all of our ports’ economic activity this makes Texas the nation’s top exporting state, totaling more than $289 billion exports in 2014. www.portofhouston.com

By Ida Sameri
54

L O C A L

| january 16