News / State funding of $1.5bn allocated to Californian port improvement projects

07/07/2023

California has announced state funding of more than $1.5bn for 15 port projects to bolster infrastructure and create some 20,000 jobs.

Among gateways set to benefit are Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland, LA scooping $233m for “essential” infrastructure and sustainability improvements.

Executive director Gene Seroka said: “This investment will accelerate efforts to boost competitiveness, create jobs and enhance decarbonisation efforts.”

Projects include a chassis and empty container storage facility serving all 12 of the box terminals at LA and at Long Beach, which will be more than doubled from 30 acres to 71 by a cash injection of some $149.3m.

One source told The Loadstar improved chassis storage was something they had been crying out for, adding: “Infrastructure at California ports has long needed improving, with the availability of chassis having been a big issue, This makes a lot of sense and represents a good start on what is needed to modernise the ports.”

But the source added: “Even so, west coast ports are behind the curve in terms of investment compared with their east coast rivals, and need to up their game to reverse the coastal shift of cargo.”

The source suggested improvements were also needed in terminal IT systems.

Oakland has also been awarded more than $102m, part of a $357m modernisation project to lure carriers back to what the funding body termed an “under-utilised” gateway.

The California State Transportation Agency said the funding had been allocated to address “our ‘core four’ priorities”, said transportation secretary Toks Omishakin. “Safety, climate action, equity and economic prosperity. The investments announced today shine in all those areas.

“The historic level of state funding also puts these projects in a stronger position to compete for significant federal infrastructure dollars from the Biden-Harris administration.”

The investment follows the California’s Transportation Commission’s approval of $1.1bn for infrastructure improvements on high-volume freight corridors, putting total supply chain funding thios week at $2.6bn.