The Port of Longview is in exclusive talks with Ciner Enterprises, a subsidiary of the Istanbul, Turkey-based Ciner Group, to develop a multi-million-dollar natural soda ash export terminal.
The old grain terminal at Berth 4 has sat empty since Continental Grain abandoned the port in the late 1980s.
The terminal would eventually allow Ciner to export up to 8 million tons of soda ash annually from its underground mine and production facility in Green River, Wyoming using 1.5-mile-long unit trains.
Representatives of the Longview-based International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union Local 21 are waiting to learn more about the potential deal before weighing in. The Port of Longview has an agreement with Local 21 that requires businesses leasing port property to use Local 21 labor to move cargo.
“At this time we don’t have a position until we see what’s being offered,” Local 21 President Billy Roberts said in an interview Monday.
