Greater Gallup EDC Wins 2025 NM Rural Project of the Year Award for Regional TradePort Planning

A multi-year, multi-dimensional effort facilitated by Greater Gallup Economic Development Corporation (GGEDC) has the City of Gallup and McKinley County in Northwest New Mexico on the cusp of reaching newfound economic potential. That’s the result of considerable thought and effort invested in developing a plan for the Gallup/McKinley County Regional TradePort.

The inland port will leverage the region’s economic landscape to usher in a new era of prosperity and potential. In recognition of this work, the GGEDC was honored in September with the 2025 Rural Project of the Year Award, presented by NMIDEA, New Mexico’s professional economic development association, at the annual Governor’s Economic Development Conference in Isleta.

The GGEDC project awarded was entitled “Designing and Moving the Gallup-McKinley TradePort Forward”. It was awarded in recognition of the GGEDC’s impactful annual economic roundtable event delivered in February 2025 in Santa Fe. The award “recognizes a collaborative project in a rural community having significant and measurable impact on a local, regional or statewide level.”

GGEDC Board President Tommy Haws commented, “This award acknowledges a tremendous body of work undertaken by the staff of the GGEDC, our public and private partners at the local, state, national and international levels, and our expert consultants. It’s something our community can be proud of, because it demonstrates our vision and our willingness to forge new economic opportunity for our people – even in the midst of all the turmoil and change in the global economy. The Roundtable itself was a big success, providing deep information and insights into the TradePort initiative, along with interactive workshop discussions involving all participants.”

GGEDC Executive Director Patty Lundstrom called out the high levels of cooperation and partnership involved in the TradePort effort and in planning and delivering the annual Roundtable. She noted in particular the voluntary leadership of the steering committee members, including representatives from the GGEDC, McKinley County, the City of Gallup, Gallup Land Partners, BNSF Railway, and the New Mexico Department of Transportation. The committee conducted several site visits to best-practice inland port and automotive proving ground sites, and consulted regularly with local consultants and with national experts from John C. Martin & Associates, Hatch Consultants, Kimley-Horn Associates and Integrity Consulting & Coaching.

About the Award

The GGEDC project awarded was entitled “Designing and Moving the Gallup-McKinley TradePort Forward”. It was awarded in recognition of the GGEDC’s impactful annual economic roundtable event delivered last February in Santa Fe. The event informed House Bill 19, the Trade Ports Development Act, which was presented and passed during the 2025 New Mexico Legislative Session. The Act created a mechanism for the State of New Mexico to designate and support trade ports within the state.

TradePort Details 

Gallup’s economy has long been bolstered by the city’s strategic positioning along Interstate 40, which runs east and west, Route 491 heading north, Route 602 towards the south and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad. Together, these arteries see nearly 4,600 trucks and 100 trains travel through Gallup per day.

The TradePort will capitalize on these transportation networks and Gallup’s equidistant positioning between the Port of Los Angeles, CA, and Oklahoma City, OK, bolstering the region’s location along a busy supply chain. Additionally, the TradePort will spur new business and job opportunities in McKinley County while attracting investments that will yield community-wide benefits.

Gallup’s high-capacity, multi-use Carbon Coal Road and the Gallup Energy Logistics Park have been selected as primary locations of this game-changing regional project. Notable planned elements of the TradePort include a county-owned business park, a privately owned industrial park with a BNSF Certified Site, an automotive proving ground and a hydrogen/multi-fueling hub.  

Recruitment and siting of companies operating in the import-export sector, establishment of a foreign trade zone, remodeling of the Gallup Municipal Airport, and development of critical supporting infrastructure are all additional components of the project. 

The Next Steps

GGEDC’s many partners in plotting out a path for the TradePort transcend local, state and international borders. They include representatives from McKinley County, the City of Gallup, BNSF Railroad, Gallup Land Partners, the New Mexico Department of Transportation, as well as a steering committee, a recently chartered Trade Port Authority, and multiple teams of experts. Together, they conducted numerous visits to determine the best site for the TradePort, settling on Carbon Coal Road and the Gallup Energy Logistics Park at the road’s western terminus.

Over the last 12 years, GGEDC’s staff and its partners have taken plans for the TradePort from the drawing board to the planning stage and now into its implementation phase. The next steps for realizing the Gallup-McKinley County TradePort include securing public and private investments, formalizing the TradePort with a State of New Mexico Trade Port designation, establishing the TradePort development district, and invigorating the mission, priorities, critical relationships and capacity of the recently formed Gallup-McKinley County TradePort Authority.

In addition, companies are actively being recruited and attracted to establish themselves within the TradePort district. Manufacturing, warehousing, and other industries are being strategically targeted for the TradePort to fully maximize Gallup’s competitive advantage along a busy, crisscrossing network of regional and national transportation routes.

For more information on the Gallup-McKinley County Regional TradePort, contact GGEDC.