Vice President JD Vance and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott were on hand in Brownsville, Texas, on Wednesday as Saronic Technologies broke ground on Port Alpha — a more than $3 billion next-generation shipyard that aims to restore American shipbuilding capacity.
The Austin-based defense technology company says the facility, sited on 835 acres at the Port of Brownsville with the option to expand to nearly 4,400 acres, represents one of the largest economic development projects in modern Texas history.
Port Alpha is designed to build both autonomous and manned vessels, serving commercial and defense customers. The company expects up to 10,000 direct jobs and projects an estimated $264.5 billion in economic impact for the state. Initial operations are targeted for 2028, with first vessels planned to include Landing Craft Utility ships under a U.S. Navy contract.
The shipyard will open with roughly 150,000 gross tons of annual shipbuilding capacity — a figure Saronic says would more than double current U.S. commercial shipbuilding capacity.
The groundbreaking echoes the administration's executive order on "Restoring America's Maritime Dominance" and the Maritime Action Plan, both aimed at strengthening the U.S.-built commercial and defense fleet. Vance and Abbott delivered remarks on what the project means for national security, economic prosperity, and freedom of the seas.