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Port, EDC and business leaders push commissioners to approve Saronic abatement, citing jobs and supply-chain benefits
Summary
Port and business leaders, EDC representatives and workforce training partners urged the court to approve the abatement as a means to secure a multibillion-dollar private investment and thousands of jobs for the Rio Grande Valley.
Representatives from the Port of Brownsville, the Greater Brownsville Economic Development Corporation and local business organizations spoke in favor of the tax-abatement package, describing the project as transformational for the regional economy. Jerry Berrios of the Greater Brownsville EDC described the proposal as a means to diversify the regional economy and "position Cameron County as a national hub for maritime shipbuilding."
Ben Pena, chairman of the Greater Brownsville ADC, called tax abatements "temporary" incentives that can secure large-scale capital investment. Port and EDC advocates emphasized workforce development ties already in place with local colleges and training programs and argued that the long-term tax base would grow when abatement periods end. The Port of Brownsville representative described the project's potential to create advanced-manufacturing, engineering, technology and logistics positions and stressed benefits to local suppliers, contractors and related industries.
Supporters requested that the court weigh the county's competitiveness for mobile, capital-intensive projects; they urged approval of the negotiated abatement terms to lock in the investment and the related workforce commitments.
