Brownsville, TX (KRGV) — Construction is underway on a new shipyard in Brownsville that is expected to create about 10,000 jobs.

Vice President JD Vance attended the groundbreaking at the port. The project is called Port Alpha and represents a $3.2 billion investment.

"We're going to invest billions of dollars into this project into this community. We're gonna create 10,000 direct ship building jobs over the next 10 years," Saronic Co-Founder and CEO Dino Mavrooka said. "$160 billion in economic impact to the region."

Brownsville leaders said the project positions the city to become a national hub for advanced maritime manufacturing.

Operations are expected to start in 2028.