Port of Oakland Receives Key Presidential
Support for -50 Foot Dredging Project
President’s FY05-06 Budget Recommends $48
Million for Channel Deepening Efforts
The Port of Oakland announced that it has
received important presidential support for the continuation
of its channel-deepening efforts. The President’s Fiscal
Year 2005-2006 budget, released Monday, February 7, 2005,
includes $48 million for the Oakland Harbor Navigation
Improvement Project (the -50 Foot Project); this amount is
the most ever included in a president’s budget for the
project. Additionally, the -50 Foot Project was included as
one of only nine Priority Projects nationwide for the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, the lead federal agency in charge
of the efforts.
“This is great news
for the Port of Oakland and the Bay Area,” remarked Jerry
Bridges, executive director of the Port of Oakland. “The -50
Foot Project is needed to accommodate the newer, larger
container ships, and to ensure that the Port continues to
serve as an economic engine for our region.” The project was
authorized under the 1999 Federal Water Resources
Development Act, with the Port responsible for contributing
approximately half of the funds. Currently, the Oakland
harbor is being dredged to -46 feet as an interim depth this
year. Following completion to -46 feet, the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers will proceed with the harbor deepening project
until it reaches -50 feet.
The -50
Foot Project also received strong support from the
Schwarzenegger Administration, who weighed in with the White
House on the importance of the channel-deepening efforts to
the state of California economy and to relieving the
congestion seen last Fall at Southern California ports.
“These funds will help the Port of Oakland serve as a strong
additional first port-of-call in California,” said Bridges,
“making sure that California can continue to handle the
ever-increasing volume of international trade and keeping
our seaports globally competitive.” Bridges added, “The Port
is grateful to Governor Schwarzenegger for his efforts in
working with the Bush Administration to designate this level
of funding in the president’s budget.”
Last year’s presidential budget contained $20
million for the -50 Foot Project, and local congressional
leaders, including Representative Barbara Lee,
Representative Ellen Tauscher, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and
Senator Barbara Boxer, were instrumental in increasing this
figure to $27.5 million and ensuring that the federal
government continued its vital support of the Oakland
harbor-deepening project. The Port will work with its
congressional allies again this year to maintain support for
the project through the yearly budget and appropriations
process.
The Port of Oakland is the
fourth largest container port in the nation and moves some
$30 billion worth of goods annually through the maritime
facilities. In conjunction with over $620 million in
capacity improvements funded by the Port, the -50 Foot
Project will further stimulate maritime business traffic,
creating an estimated 9,000 additional jobs, close to a $2
billion increase in business revenue, and a $62.5 million
increase in annual state and local taxes.