Long Beach tags $695 million for capital projects

The $982 million budget includes funding for the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement and the Middle Harbor Terminal redevelopment.    The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners on Monday approved a $982 million budget for the port’s upcoming fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.
   The Harbor Department plans to spend $695 million for capital projects, including the ongoing Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement project and the Middle Harbor Terminal redevelopment, the port said.
   A one-time payment of nearly $215 million for the port’s new headquarters, which is expected to be completed in mid-2019, is included in the plan.
   In addition, the budget includes the anticipated transfer of $20 million to the City of Long Beach Tidelands Operating Fund, the largest transfer ever, for beachfront improvement and other coastal expenditures in Long Beach.
   The budget is subject to final approval by the Long Beach City Council.
   The Harbor Department receives no taxpayer revenue to operate, and the port’s operating budget is funded by income from terminal leases and fees for moving cargo through the port.
   Business at the Port of Long Beach has been strong in 2018, with container volumes for the first five months of the calendar year increasing 14.6 percent from the corresponding 2017 period to 3.2 million TEUs.
   The port experienced the busiest May in its 107-year history, handling 687,427 TEUs, up 6 percent year-over-year.
   Compared to May 2017:
     • Loaded inbound containers increased 7.3 percent to 361,056 TEUs;
     • Loaded outbound containers surged 19.9 percent to 142,412 TEUs;
     • And empty containers fell 4.6 percent to 183,959 TEUs.
   However, business has been declining at the nearby Port of Los Angeles, which saw container volumes in May slip 3.4 percent year-over-year to 768,804 TEUs. Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka attributed the decline to the continued shuffling of alliance services in the San Pedro Bay.