Last month at a conference in Tampa, Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll outlined a $600 million spending plan for growth. Driscoll said the Port of Oakland would increase trade volume by investing in new facilities and better infrastructure, with the objective of more containerized cargo.
By BC Staff
Published: March, 2017
Last month at a conference in Tampa, Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll outlined a $600 million spending plan for growth. Driscoll said the Port of Oakland would increase trade volume by investing in new facilities and better infrastructure, with the objective of more containerized cargo.
“We’re building for growth in a shipping industry that is becoming more and more competitive,” Driscoll said at an American Association of Port Authorities conference. “By investing with partners who share our vision, we can deliver services that will be of great value to the global supply chain.”
Driscoll said the port would team with private developers and public agencies to modernize infrastructure. He said investment from all three sources would be used to create new logistics capabilities in Oakland. It will also help eliminate bottlenecks that inhibit cargo flow, he said. Among the proposed investments:
• $244 million, mostly from government grants, to separate railroad tracks from major port roadways;
• A $90 million, privately built refrigerated warehouse called “cool port” to increase chilled beef and pork exports;
• A $50 million expansion, also privately financed, of the port’s second-largest marine terminal.
Driscoll said the port has just completed a $100 million railyard near marine terminals and a proposed logistics complex. The proximity of the new developments should be a drawing card for shippers, he said, noting that it will enable cargo to be quickly shifted between rail, road and ocean transport—a critical feature for time-sensitive international shipments. At most gateways, transferring of cargo—known as transloading—takes place away from the port.
Driscoll also said construction on the cool port could begin this month. Terminal expansion is already underway. The truck-rail grade separation still awaits government funding.
