The renovation of its two cruise terminals with the introduction of touchless bathroom fixtures and improved air handling systems is part of the port's planning efforts.

The port also reported that it is working on projects to develop the internal highway of Galveston, to upgrade the West Port in preparation for the relocation of cargo operations from the East Port, and to strengthen the facilities of the East Port in preparation for the development of the third cruise terminal.

By signing a long-term contract in December 2019, Galveston and Royal Caribbean Cruises have agreed on the construction of the third cruise terminal.

The contract stipulated that Royal Caribbean would construct the new two-story terminal at about 170,000 square feet on 10 acres of land and then lease it from the port with four 10-year extension options for an initial period of 20 years.

“We don’t know exactly when cruising will resume from Galveston, but we want to be ready when it does. Thanks to a fantastic first quarter, we have a positive operating cash flow of $1.5 million for 2020. We have focused on cargo/lay business on the revenue side while our expenses remain under our amended budget by almost 5 percent,” Rees stated.

Galveston Wharves set its all-time sales records in 2019 with a 19 percent revenue rise and a 52 percent net income rise.

Maritime Business World