Barbara Lee Announces More than $50 Million in Funding for Port Projects
(Washington, DC) – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), who serves on the House Appropriations Committee, announced today that the Fiscal Year 2008 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill that will be voted on next week will include more than $50 million for port-related projects in her district.
“This investment in the maintenance and expansion of the Port of Oakland helps to ensure that our nation’s fourth busiest container port continues to be an effective gateway for trade and to support the growth of our economy both locally and nationally,” said Lee.
A list of projects included in the bill that was approved by the Appropriations Committee today follows:
1) $42 million - Port of Oakland – for Oakland Harbor (50 foot dredging project). The Port of Oakland is the fourth busiest container port in the country, and plays a crucial role as a major international gateway to our nation’s complex trade and transportation infrastructure systems.
Dredging the existing harbor channels to a depth of 50 feet will allow the port to accommodate the latest generation of container vessels, generating economies of scale that will translate into greater shipping efficiency and reduced business costs.
The 50 foot project is estimated to create 8,800 additional jobs, $1.9 billion of increased annual business revenue, and $62 million of increased annual local taxes. The harbor deepening must be completed in a timely manner or risk container traffic diversion to Canada and Mexico, thus raising costs to shippers and losing jobs and revenue to the State of California and the U.S. economy. The project has a benefit to coast ratio (BCR) of 7.9.
2) $10.2 million - Port of Oakland - for operations and maintenance dredging of the federal channels at the Oakland Harbor, CA. Annual maintenance dredging of the Oakland Harbor is required to maintain the Port’s authorized depth and its overall shipping capacity.
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