NAVAL STATION INGLESIDE TO REVERT TO
PORT OF CORPUS CHRISTI AT NO COST

(Corpus Christi, TX) --- The Port of Corpus Christi announced today that Congress has passed a bill that will return Naval Station Ingleside to the Port of Corpus Christi at no cost. The Port of Corpus Christi has reversionary rights to the naval base but the compensation issue had yet to be settled. This historic legislation spearheaded by Senator Hutchison (R-TX), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Senator Cochran (R-MS), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations committee will save the Port of Corpus Christi tens of millions of dollars in reimbursement for capital improvements.

“This is an extraordinary day for the residents of the Coastal Bend and the Port of Corpus Christi by this legislative mandate. Now the task of planning for the future of Naval Station Ingleside can begin as we prepare for economic development and job creation,” said Ruben Bonilla, Chairman of the Port of Corpus Christi.

Sen. Hutchison worked with Sen. Cochran to insert the reversionary rights provision into the conference report before it went to the House for consideration. The House today approved the final version of the Fiscal Year 2006 Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Bill which included the reversionary rights provision. It is expected to be passed in the Senate today or Tuesday and will be sent to the President to be signed into law.

“We are quite pleased with the news of today and look forward to the process of preparing Naval Station Ingleside to be an economic catalyst as it will be a joint effort with many different stakeholders having input,” said Terry Simpson, County Judge of San Patricio County.

An appraisal has not been preformed, but reports have the estimated buy-back fee for the property to range between $219 million and $250 million of which the Port will be relieved from paying when reclaiming the property. At the January Port Commission meeting, a Coastal Bend Redevelopment Planning Committee will be formed and tasked to commence work on identifying the economic impact of the closure of Naval Station Ingleside and realignment of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, conducting extensive outreach with the citizens of the Coastal Bend, and developing a reuse/redevelopment plan to offset the projected economic loss of over 7,000 area jobs.

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