Construction starts on $3.2bn Port Alpha shipyard in Texas

Brownsville, United States - Construction is under way on the first stages of Saronic $3.2 billion Port Alpha shipyard at the Port of Brownsville in Texas, where a JE Dunn and Alberici joint venture is delivering a major new manufacturing complex for crewed and autonomous vessels.

The development will initially occupy approximately 835 acres, with Saronic retaining the option to expand the site to almost 4,400 acres.

Once developed, Port Alpha will support the production of manned, autonomy-capable and fully autonomous ships for Saronic.

The construction programme has been structured across three overlapping phases, allowing design, procurement and physical works to progress in parallel.

Initial site and infrastructure activities include grading, ground improvement, drainage systems, access roads and utility networks.

The first major shipyard-development phase will then introduce assembly buildings, material-handling systems and supporting facilities.

As the project progresses, the site is planned to incorporate manufacturing buildings, warehousing, permanent waterfront infrastructure, vessel-launching facilities and employee-support areas.

JE Dunn and Alberici are working with design partners Stantec and KPFF under a progressive design-build delivery model.

The approach allows the project team to develop the design, construction scope and costs progressively while advancing packages that can begin before all later-stage requirements have been finalised.

Scott Shelby, Vice President at JE Dunn and programme leader for the joint venture, said: “That collaboration also helps us determine which portions of the work can advance while other requirements are being resolved.”

He added: “For example, we can plan early structural and waterfront packages while coordinating later equipment installation and supporting infrastructure.”

The project follows earlier work by the same contractor team for Saronic in Louisiana.

JE Dunn and Alberici previously secured a $300 million expansion of Saronic’s shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana, with that facility reaching its topping-out milestone in August 2026.

Port Alpha represents a much larger step in Saronic’s manufacturing strategy, combining heavy industrial construction, waterfront infrastructure and advanced vessel-production capabilities on one large-scale site.

According to the project team, Port Alpha is the first greenfield shipyard of its kind to be developed in the United States since World War II.