03-05-07 Special Called Joint Meeting of the La Porte Development Corporation Board of Directors and the La Porte City Council Minutes

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AREA OVERVIEW 11-8 Hobby Airport also maintains a major general aviation operation including six fixed based operators and several hundred corporate jets. Hobby Airport saw a decrease in passenger traffic from 2001 to 2003 due to the national economic recession, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the local economic downturn resulting from the demise of Enron. However, strong passenger growth was recorded in 2004. Hobby Airport also experienced 3.6% growth in passenger activity through October 2006. Cargo activity declined due to the downturn in the high technology sector and energy industries between 1999 and 2002. Since 2003, there has been significant growth in the cargo sector due in part to oilfield and engineering cargo. This increase should continue as the economy improves and the oil services sector increases. Historic passenger and cargo volumes for Hobby are shown in the following table. William P. Hobby Airport Passenger and Cargo Activity 2000 to 2006 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 CAC* 9,105,514 8,637,150 8,035,727 7,803,330 8,290,559 8,257,159 8,549,289 -1.0% -5.1% -7.0% -2.9% 6.2% -0.4% 3.5% 13,963 11,884 11,768 12,625 14,178 15,304 18,625 4.9% -14.9% -1.0% 7.3% 12.3% 7.9% 21.7% .CAC = Compound Annual Change Source: Department of Aviation, Houston Airport System Southwest Airlines plans to maintain Houston as one of its focus cities and is looking to serve new markets from Hobby. To accomrnodate these expansion plans, Hobby has begun a capital improvement program that includes the relocation and expansion of two taxiways, phased reconstruction of the concourses and portions of the terminal, and upgrade of one runway. Port of Houston The Port of Houston is one of the busiest ports in the U.S. in terms of total tonnage and the busiest port in terms of foreign tonnage due to the high volumes of liquid bulk (oil) that is shipped into Houston for processing. The Port of Houston is a man-made port that has 25 miles of public and private port facilities. The Port provides more than 53,000 direct jobs in the Houston area. The City of La Porte is located adjacent to the Port of Houston.