Ex-Port of Houston cruise terminal to be auto import site

HOUSTON -- A more than $100 million Houston-area cruise terminal that closed this year due to lack of use will become a processing facility for imported vehicles.

The Port of Houston Authority on Wednesday announced the agreement with Auto Warehousing Co., the Houston Chronicle reports. The former Bayport Cruise Terminal is projected to handle about 36,000 imported vehicles over three years.

Port Authority official Ricky Kunz says Auto Warehousing expects to create about 150 jobs by the time the site it is fully operational. Additional jobs will include longshoremen and truckers.

The first ship is expected to arrive in December.

Officials say the terminal, which was last used in April, was unable to compete with cruises from Galveston - where ships are nearly three hours closer to the Gulf of Mexico.