Photo courtesy of the City of Corpus Christi

A rendering of the planned Inner Harbor Desalination Plant.

Corpus Christi, Texas, officials selected Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. to design and build the city's planned Inner Harbor Desalination Plant, a project with an estimated cost of $757.6 million, enr.com reported.

The seawater desalination plant would be able to process 30 million gallons daily. Officials at Corpus Christi Water plan to build the plant at a site beside the Inner Harbor ship channel linking the Port of Corpus Christi to the Gulf of Mexico so the plant could draw from and discharge into the channel, according to enr.com.

Kiewit beat out two other shortlisted teams bidding for the work. The company employs more than 1,600 people nearby at a laydown yard in Ingleside, Texas, enr.com reported.

Caller-Times said Kiewit previously built a seawater desalination facility in Carlsbad, Calif.

Kiewit representative said in a statement that it expects to partner with "many local subcontractors and suppliers to safely deliver" the plant.

City officials anticipate for work to start on the project in 2025 and be completed by the end of 2027, according to enr.com.

In July, the Texas Water Development Board approved the city's application for $535.1 million for the project through the state's State Water Implementation Fund for Texas program.

Corpus Christi Water supplies about 500,000 people, enr.com reported. It says the plant is needed to help secure the local water supply against drought.

"Much of our future depends on new water supplies," Drew Molly, chief operating officer of Corpus Christi Water, said at an Aug. 7 city council meeting that outlined plans for various infrastructure projects including the desalination plant.

A preliminary $10 million contract for the first phase of the project would include facilities planning and conceptual design work, as well as a pilot program for the plant, Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni told the Caller-Times.

A second-phase contract of about $128 million would focus more on design work, allowing for an updated construction cost in mid- to late 2025, he said.

The project is not without some controversy. Opponents have mentioned possible environmental impacts and the site's proximity to a neighborhood.

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