pharr bridge board

PHARR, Texas - Jose Peña is IT director for the City of Pharr. He recently gave a presentation at IWS2.

IWS is a series of industrial warehouse summits hosted recently by the Pharr Bridge Board and held at the Pharr Development and Research Center. The “2” signifies that this was the second in the series.

Peña’s presentation focused on TeamPharr.net, the City of Pharr’s city-wide, blazing fast internet service.

Peña’s said this service is Pharr’s solution to closing the digital divide. “City of Pharr will now be offering blazing fast fiber internet and the next generation of WiFi technology that better connects all of the devices in your home or business. Expertly installed by a certified technician and includes our CommandIQ/TeamPharr.net App with enhanced parental controls and network security. Fast, reliable and bundled to give you more for less money,” Peña told the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service.

In his remarks from the podium, Peña said: “So, we're building a fiber network throughout the entire city, hitting every property. Our first goal was to get to every home, but… we've got that process up and running, we actually will hit 2,000 subscribers this week. Now our focus is starting to shift to hitting commercial and enterprise customers.”

The businessmen in the audience appeared to be impressed with the speeds Peña was quoting.

“Our network goes up to 100 gigs. So… we can work with anybody to deliver the package they require for their enterprise connectivity needs.”

Peña said the City of Pharr is totally transparent about the pricing and speeds available. “We are transparent. We can't hide what we offer to one customer over another customer. So, we're very transparent, which is obviously not the case for the private sector.”

With the business customer in mind, Peña added: “If you want ten-gig of internet to your facility, we can give you that today. If you require 25-gig because of your higher level computing requirements, we can work with you on that. If you require 25- or 40-gig (we can do it)… our pricing will be transparent.”

Editor’s Note: Here is an audio recording of Jose Peña’s remarks at IWS2. He is introduced by moderator Jorge Torres of InterLink Trade Services.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, Texas - Steve Valdez executive director of Weslaco Economic Development Corporation, says plans are being developed to bury a canal so that the runway of Mid-Valley Airport can be extended by 1,000 feet.

According to Weslaco Mid-Valley Airport website, the airport currently has a 6,000 x 80 foot lighted runway.

Valdez announced the plans when he spoke at IWS2, the industrial warehouse summit hosted by Pharr Bridge Board and held at Pharr Development and Research Center. 

The theme for the summit was, “Building a Competitive Border Region for Near-Shoring and Industrial Growth.”

Valdez said: “We have a what we believe is the fourth largest airport (in the Rio Grande Valley), behind Harlingen, McAllen and Brownsville. Recently we were awarded with a $5.7 million grant for additional hangars. We just finished about six hangars and so we seem to be growing in terms of the airport.”

Valdez then pointed to a slide in a powerpoint presentation.

“If you can see it… at the very top of the airport there's a canal and the City is looking at ways to cross that canal. Bury the canal process so that you can extend another 1,000 feet for our airport runway.”

Leaders from across Hidalgo County recently attended a press conference to hear the announcement of the $5.7 million grant. Valdez said that the press conference.

“During the announcement of the $5.7 million we went to the Payne Auto Group hangar, a 10,000 square foot hangar that sits about six airplanes, a beautiful location,” Valdez said at IWS2.

“If you get a chance to stop by there at some point, it is a really nice expansion to our airport. On site (customs) inspections, as you can see. Within one hour, if you call ahead of time, you could have Customs Border Protection be there as well for your inspections.”

The grant for the new hangars came from state and federal resources. State lawmakers appropriated $5 million with Hidalgo County adding $750,000 from its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

Editor's Note: Go to the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service to read the full story.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, Texas - Arturo Gomez, deputy port director of operations for Brownsville Navigation District, has given more details about a new 118-acre shovel-ready business park being built at the Port of Brownsville.

In a speech at IWS2, Gomez said the new industrial project will leverage the Port’s logistical advantages to support manufacturing companies and industry clusters with a base of operations that combines access to efficient multimodal transportation and robust storage capabilities. 

Gomez said the new business park will be a critical component in the Port’s mission to attract new industries and businesses to the area, thus creating jobs, and driving economic growth.

IWS2 stands for 2nd Industrial Warehouse Summit. The summit was hosted recently by Pharr Bridge Board and held at Pharr Development and Research Center. 

The theme for the summit was, “Building a Competitive Border Region for Near-Shoring and Industrial Growth.”

IWS2 stands for 2nd Industrial Warehouse Summit. Hosted by Pharr Bridge Board. Held recently at Pharr Development and Research Center. 

Gomez also spoke about plans to deepen the Port of Brownsville's ship channel and a liquefied natural gas export terminal to be built at the Port by NextDecade.

Here is an audio recording of Gomez’s speech at IWS2.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, Texas - Pharr Bridge Director Luis Bazan spoke about plans for a second span for the bridge when he gave remarks at IWS2.

IWS2 was an industrial warehouse summit hosted recently by the Pharr Bridge Board and held at Pharr Development and Research Center. The theme for the summit was, “Building a Competitive Border Region for Near-Shoring and Industrial Growth.”

Here are his remarks. 

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, Texas - As an example of how he supports regional economic development, Teclo Garcia says that on a recent trip to the interior of Mexico he not only promoted Anzalduas International Bridge but also the Pharr International Bridge.

Garcia, CEO of Mission Economic Development Corporation, was part of a trade delegation that visited San Luis Potosí. In his meetings there he pointed out that the Anzalduas bridge will not be crossing fruit and vegetables. He said that is Pharr’s expertise.

“We are not competing with Pharr when we go on trade missions. We include Pharr in our economic talks. Pharr is still going to be the only produce crossing in this area. And that is very important for people to know in central Mexico,” Garcia said. 

Garcia made his comments at IWS2, the industrial warehouse summit hosted by the Pharr Bridge Board and held at the Pharr Development and Research Center. The theme for the summit was, “Building a Competitive Border Region for Near-Shoring and Industrial Growth.”

In his remarks, Garcia spoke about industrial development around the Anzalduas bridge and the fact that this port of entry will focus on dry goods. He said he expects the bridge to be able to cross trucks carrying fully loaded cargo within the next 18 months to two years.

When that happens, Garcia said, he expects Anzalduas to start with truck movements measuring around 1,500 a day both north- and south-bound.

Garcia also spoke about the interest Mission is receiving from developers in Monterrey, San Luis Potosí and Laredo. He said the interest from Laredo may have something to do with the fact that Killam, a Laredo company, is in Mission and has 3,500 acres for industrial development.

Garcia said the Rio Grande Valley is a “bargain” when compared to Laredo. In north Laredo, he said, undeveloped land is selling for $300,000 an acre. He also said Laredo’s international bridges are currently “saturated” as they move around 20,000 trucks a day.

“We (the RGV) stand to gain,” Garcia said.

Garcia said he will be visiting San Luis Potosí again in November and also developing leads in Monterrey.

Here is an audio recording of Garcia’s remarks at IWS2.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, TEXAS - Dennis A. McKenzie, deputy executive director, cargo and conveyance security for US Custom and Border Protection, was the keynote speaker at the recent Pharr Bridge Board Industrial Warehouse Summit 2.

The title of the event was IWS2. The subheading: “Building a Competitive Border Region for Near-Shoring and Industrial Growth.” It took place at the Pharr Development & Research Center in W. Dicker Road in south Pharr. 

On his visit to the Rio Grande Valley, McKenzie saw a number of ports of entry. He praised the Pharr Bridge Board and the local stakeholders the board works with. 

“I want to compliment you guys because I go everywhere in the country. I have done cargo since 1989. Northern border, southern border, seaports, airports, rail crossings. You are the only ones coming together as a community to get the work done,” McKenzie said.

“I saw multiple cities here, I saw state (officials). I’ve seen your senator’s staffers here. I saw this in Laredo, which impressed me. Then I went to El Paso and I saw it once again. Now I come to the RGV and I see it once again. Public-private partnerships coming together to get budgets like this done.”

McKenzie said he could not believe the federal government has not moved quicker on the donations acceptance programs the Pharr Bridge Board has embarked on. The Donations Acceptance Program is a mechanism that allows local communities to work with the federal government to get key infrastructure projects done. Pharr is still working on DAP 15 and DAP 16. The numbers refer to the year the application for the partnership was made. So, Pharr is still working on projects at their international bridge that were registered with the General Services Administration in 2015 and 2016. 

Here is an audio recording of McKenzie’s 40-plus minute speech at IWS2.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

MCALLEN, Texas - Pharr Bridge Director Luis Bazan recently spoke at a meeting of TxDOT’s Border Trade Advisory Committee.

In his presentation, Bazan listed some of the improvements happening at the bridge, including construction of a second span. With four more lanes, the new span will effectively double the capacity of the bridge. Bazan said Mexico is already building its half of the second span.

After his presentation, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson asked Bazan to reiterate how much fresh produce the Pharr bridge crosses. The answer: Sixty-five percent of the imported fresh fruit and vegetables consumed in Texas. “That is absolutely phenomenal,” said Nelson, who chaired the BTAC meeting. 

Bazan said the new produce season will kickoff in October. He said Pharr Bridge Board is slated to host an Avocado Festival the same month.

The BTAC meeting was held at the McAllen Convention Center.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, Texas - Unlike Nuevo León, Coahuila and Jalisco, the state of Tamaulipas has seen no benefit from the wave of large manufacturing corporations returning to North America from the Far East.

That’s according to a report from Index Nacional, the maquiladora trade association.

The Index report has caught the attention of economic development leaders in the Rio Grande Valley, who know their region would benefit if Tamaulipas could pull in more mega manufacturing projects. 

The failure of Tamaulipas to attract corporations that want to come back from the Far East was discussed at two recent Valley events.

The first was a Pharr Bridge Board meeting. Both Pharr Bridge Director Luis Bazan and the president of the Greater McAllen Area Chapter of the Asociación de Empresarios Mexicanos (AEM), Francisco J. Peña-Valdés, brought up the subject in reports to the bridge board members. 

Later the same day, Peña-Valdés discussed it at a webinar AEM hosted that was focused on near-shoring. During the webinar, Peña-Valdés asked McAllen Economic Development Corporation President Keith Patridge for his analysis.

This podcast focuses on Tamaulipas’ failure thus far to benefit from near-shoring, with commentary from Bazan, Peña-Valdés, and Patridge. 

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, Texas - The start of the fresh produce season was celebrated at the Pharr International Bridge recently with an event titled “A Taste of Trade.”

The event was hosted by the Pharr Bridge Board.

One of the speakers at the event was Pharr International Bridge Director Luis Bazan.

During the festivities the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service conducted an interview with Bazan, along with some of the growers and shippers that use the bridge to import fresh produce from Mexico.

Here is the podcast.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, Texas - Reflecting the increased market share the Pharr International Bridge has gained for the import of fruits and vegetables from Mexico, the city’s 92-acre Pharr Produce District is now almost full.

When the park opened a few years ago there were 32 lots available for development. Now, just a handful remain.

This and other information related to the import and export of fresh produce at the Pharr Bridge was relayed by Luis Bazan, a director of the bridge during a recent webinar.

Early in the webinar, Tony Martinez, of Primo Trading Services, LLC, remarked that investments had slowed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Later in the webinar, Bazan agreed but predicted things will rebound.

“It has kind of slowed down due to the economy and the way things are right now. But if you look across the bridge, adjacent to the bridge and Pharr Produce District, that is strictly a cold warehousing district for the City of Pharr,” Bazan said. 

“We started with 32 available lots over a 92-acre tract. And here we are a couple of years later and we are almost at capacity. Yes, some of the construction has stopped for a little bit but that is understandable with the current economic conditions. At the end of the day, things will continue.”

Bazan said it makes sense for cold storage warehouses to be positioned close to his bridge.

“People want to be close to the bridge that they cross through. We are very excited to have these companies here that had been crossing through Pharr for many years and decided to put in the investment and work closer with us.”

The webinar featuring Bazan and Martinez was hosted by Miami, Florida-based WorldCity, Inc., which produced the 2020 Pharr Trade Numbers publication. WorldCity generates more than 10 million datasets with the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. It covers more than 200 nations; over 400 airports, seaports and border crossings; and more than 900 export and 900 import commodities.

Ken Roberts, president of WorldCity, said it is thanks to the City of Pharr that his company analyzes trade numbers by port. Before Pharr made this request all the data was obtained at the customs district level. He also said Pharr was the first client to request a Trade Numbers publication in Spanish.

“As vice chair of the Pharr International Bridge, thank you, Ken, for working with us,” Martinez said. “It truly makes our job so much easier to have you on our side because it is a fact check. You are a name that people trust. When people hear Ken Roberts they know the numbers are there. That means it is valid. It builds confidence in the people we are trying to service.”

Editor's Note: To read the full story, go to www.riograndeguardian.com

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, Texas - Each week, Pharr International Bridge holds a “virtual” town hall meeting for the international trade community.

The series is called BridgeConnect LIVE. Before the coronavirus pandemic struck, the Pharr International Bridge Board would hold the events in-person once a month. 

Now, because of the threat of COVID-19, the events are held once a week on Facebook. The series is called “The Effects of COVID-19.” 

Session 19 focused on the ACE Program.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection requires carriers bringing goods into the United States to file a manifest prior to arriving at the United States Border by means of a system called the Automated Commercial Environment. It’s called ACE for short.

During Pharr Bridge Connect Session 19, officials at the Pharr International Bridge and Customs and Border Protection provided a detailed instructional for truckers bringing product into the United States from Mexico. For the benefit of Mexican carriers, the session was conducted in Spanish.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, Texas - Each week Pharr International Bridge holds a “virtual” town hall meeting for the international trade community.

The series is called BridgeConnect LIVE. Before the coronavirus pandemic struck, the Pharr International Bridge Board would hold the events once a month. Now, because of social distancing, the events are held via Facebook and held once a week. The series is called “The Effects of COVID-19.” 

Part 9 focused on ACE, which stands for Automated Commercial Environment. It is the system through which the trade community reports imports and exports and the government determines admissibility. 

Part 9 was hosted by Pharr Bridge Deputy Director Fred Brouwen.

The series is being conducted in Spanish. 

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.