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.”