Guam governor signs port modernization plan

Guam governor signs port modernization plan A multimillion-dollar modernization plan for Guam's commercial port heads to the Guam Legislature after Gov. Felix Camacho approved the plan over the weekend.
   The estimated $195 million master plan outlines the Guam Port Authority's long-term plans for the port in light of the impending U.S. military buildup. The military is to begin transferring all its operations and personnel from Okinawa, Japan to Guam in 2010. The buildup is expected to more than double traffic through the Guam port, an increase that many fear the port's current infrastructure would not be able to handle.
   'The window of time for us to meet the needs of the buildup is so contracted, so short, we cannot afford a downtime period there is no convenience of that at all in our schedule,' interim port general manager Carlos Salas told KUAM News.
   Developed by GPA contractor Parsons Brinckerhoff International and based on a 1999 modernization plan, the master plan also details a financing plan for the development efforts. The port has identified about 10 percent of the funds required by the plan.
   State lawmakers now have 60 days to review and vote on the plan.