Commissioners Officially Signed Lease Agreement with voestalpine Texas Holding, LLC
Corpus Christi, TX – Port Commissioners and voestalpine Texas Holdings, LLC., representatives officially signed the lease agreement for part of the La Quinta Trade Gateway on a special commission meeting held Tuesday, April 30, 2013.
The official signing of the lease agreement made voestalpine Texas Holding, LLC., the anchor investor for the development of the Port’s La Quinta Trade Gateway. The Austrian company will lease approximately 475 acres of upland property and about 11 acres of submerged land for an initial lease term of 50 years with two 15-year options. voestalpine will construct the Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) plant and a 1,060-foot long high-performance dock on the easternmost portion of the PCCA’s waterfront, capable of unloading iron ore pellets and loading HBI.
In his speech Bernarhard Schlattl, voestalpine Texas Holding LLC., CEO said; “Everything begins with an idea. An idea whose time has come. There’s nothing more powerful. But ideas need fertile ground on which to grow and flourish. And, above all, an idea needs passion. Only then it will develop into a dream, a vision, a reality. The signing of this lease agreement is an important step of turning our dream into reality.” Schlattl continues, “Our dream is about building and operating the most modern, environmentally-friendly and successful direct reduction plant. One and a half years ago we set off, highly motivated, to search around the world for the most suitable location. We wanted to set benchmarks in our site selection, both in terms of time and quality. I believe we have mastered this step with flying colors! Apart from the excellent framework conditions, it was the people at POCCA, the CCREDC, the elected officials from San Patricio County and the City of Corpus Christi who finally made the difference. We were very impressed by your openness, hospitality and professionalism.”
Headquartered in Linz, Austria, The voestalpine group is a steelmaking, processing, and technology group that operates worldwide and manufactures, processes and develops high-quality steel products. With 500 production and sales companies in more than 50 countries on five continents, the group has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1995. With its top-quality flat steel products, the group is one of the leading partners to the automotive and domestic-appliance industries in Europe and to the oil and gas industries worldwide. The voestalpine group is also the world market leader in railway switch technology, special rails, tool steel, and special sections. In the 2011/12 business year, the voestalpine group staffs roughly 46,500 employees worldwide. “Port Commissioners and staff as well as representatives of the Coastal Bend Region involved in the evolution of the project look forward to the full development of voestalpine Texas Holding, LLC. We were impressed with the values of the organization and the creation of this strong relationship needed to move forward. It gave all of us a level of trust about the project.” Said Mike Carrell, Chairman of the Port of Corpus Christi Commission.
Port Corpus Christi acquired the La Quinta property (1100 acres) in 1998. In 1999, Port and U.S. Corp of Engineering (COE) initiated a feasibility study for Ship Channel Improvements including extending La Quinta Channel. The U.S. Congress authorized la Quinta Channel Extension to reach the La Quinta Property. In 2007 The Gulf Cotton Compress became the first tenant on La Quinta Property – anticipating the container terminal in the future. La Quinta Channel Extension project was possible through a $58 million Congressional appropriation in 2010. Extension to be complete summer 2013. The construction of the La Quinta Channel extension, supports the development of the La Quinta Property as a multi-purpose container terminal.