The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners approved an $829 million budget for the next fiscal year, beginning October 1, 2015, the Port of Long Beach (POLB) announced Tuesday.
The budget will next be presented to the Long Beach City Council for consideration.
According to a release issued Tuesday afternoon, $555 million of the budget has been allocated for capital investments that include the Port’s major terminal redevelopment and bridge replacement projects in an effort to strengthen the Port’s competitiveness.
“Our goal is to build upon the success of the Port of Long Beach by attracting new trade, and with that, new jobs, to Long Beach and the region,” said Harbor Commission President Doug Drummond in a statement. “We are moving forward with important improvements that will help this community, by building a greener, more efficient Port of Long Beach.”
The budget takes into account a 6.1 percent increase in operating revenue over the current fiscal year, generated by increased goods moving through the POLB. Taxpayer money is not used in the Harbor Department’s operating revenue.
The biggest capital improvement projects in the budget are the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project and the Middle Harbor Redevelopment project, which focuses on building the “greenest container terminal in the world.” Sewer, street, dredging and rail improvement projects will also be addressed.
A total of $17.74 million in the budget will be transferred to the City of Long Beach’s Tidelands Operating Fund for beach improvements in Long Beach.
Another portion of the budget will also enhance energy security, sustainability and improvements working toward efficiency at the Port, dubbed “supply chain optimization.”