The Long Beach City Council voted unanimously Tuesday, September 2, to approve an USD 858 million budget for the Port of Long Beach for the upcoming fiscal year, with two-thirds of the spending set aside for a robust building and modernization program.
For the fiscal year starting October 1, 2014, the Harbor Department plans to spend USD 579 million on capital projects ― part of a decade-long, USD 4 billion investment in Port upgrades and efficiency improvements.
The ongoing Desmond Bridge Replacement Project and Middle Harbor Terminal Redevelopment will continue to be the Port’s largest construction projects.
The ambitious spending plan reflects the Port’s commitment to boosting its competitiveness in the long term by updating or replacing older facilities and infrastructure.
“To remain competitive, the Port needs to continually reinvest in major facilities upgrades, ” said Chief Executive Jon Slangerup at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “We are proud that the Port of Long Beach remains financially strong. And we continue to work to make it stronger.”
The budget projects operating revenue of USD 346.8 million in the coming year, on par with this year’s revenues.
The approved budget adds 28 new full-time positions, which include 20 in Engineering to support ongoing capital improvements, and six to enhance Port security operations.
The budget also includes funding of more than USD 30 million for environmental programs and projects such as technology-advancement demonstrations of a barge-based pollution-control system for ships at berth and an electric highway truck system.