An architect’s rendering of M&G Polymer’s chemical plant at the Port of Corpus Christi. The company went bankrupt before construction of the plant was completed. Courtesy photo
The city of Corpus Christi might have found a shortcut to getting a desalination plant. It will be a complicated shortcut but one that could provide water to industrial customers long before the city could build one from scratch — and at a much cheaper cost.
First step in the process is for the Port of Corpus of Corpus Christi to purchase M&G Polymers, which declared bankruptcy in October and has until Jan. 30 to sell its assets. The port hopes to buy some of those assets, including the company’s partially constructed desalination plant.
Next would be for the port to enter into an interlocal agreement with the city to turn the plant over once it is completed and an agreement could be reached. According to Sean Strawbridge, the port’s new CEO, the idea is at the exploratory stage.
The city has long sought a way to turn saltwater into something usable for both industrial sites and residential homes. The Texas Water Development Board granted a $2.75 million loan to the city to help fund work on selecting a site and developing plans for a newly constructed plant.
The city has until March 2 to decide whether to continue with work on a new plant. The $2.75 million has to be paid back by July 2025. The city has received estimates for building two plants that would produce 10 million gallons of drinking water per day. Cost would be $150 million each.
The desalination plant under construction at M&G would produce 22 million gallons of water for industrial use per day.
