HERCULANEUM, Mo. — The development of a new Mississippi River cargo port that could make St. Louis a container shipping hub got a boost this month with a $25 million state grant for the project, announced as developers said they are meeting key milestones toward building and operating the port.
The state is contributing a $25 million grant to the development of a container shipping port in Herculaneum in Jefferson County, 35 miles south of St. Louis, that could handle “container-on-vessel” cargo traffic as early as 2024 under a plan led by Hawtex Development Corp., a development and consulting firm with operations in Texas and Hawaii. The port has been in the works for years, but the developers announced in December that plans are moving ahead, with a timeline to build and open the cargo port by the second half of 2024.
The money was appropriated in the fiscal year 2023 budget approved by the Missouri Legislature, which still has to be signed by Gov. Mike Parson. The Jefferson County Port Authority would use the grant to fund equipment needed to build the port, including but not limited to cranes, a Taylor lift, hostlers and a chassis, a scale and mooring dolphins, JCPA Deputy Director Cory Schuh said.
The Port Authority said that the state money is an “overwhelming show of legislative support” for the project, which officials from the county and the port authority lobbied for in 17 meetings with legislators in March.
Read the full story on the St. Louis Business Journal website.
