Port of Oakland Looks to Big Construction Program

PHOENIX - The Port of Oakland, Calif. this week asked a large stakeholder task force to look for operating efficiencies in preparation for an ambitious construction agenda this year.

The Efficiency Task Force originally came together 18 months ago, and this week's meeting was the first of 2017. The port, which includes maritime infrastructure as well as Oakland International Airport and manages a more than $1 billion debt portfolio, is about to launch a construction program that port leadership said will help keep it competitive in a world of ever-larger container ships and increased competition from foreign ports.

"We want more cargo," Port of Oakland executive director Chris Lytle told the 60-member task force during the meeting at the port's headquarters. "But we need all of you at the table to make sure we do it right."

The projects include a 283,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse scheduled to begin construction in March that could send an additional 30,000 containers full of chilled meat through Oakland annually, a 440,000-square-foot seaport logistics complex warehouse that could break ground in late 2017, and a project to raise six cranes 26 feet higher beginning in April so they can reach containers stacked aboard the largest ships calling on North American ports.

"These projects are game-changers for the Port of Oakland," said John Driscoll, the port's maritime director. "They give us growth potential for the next 20 years."

Task force members said they're working on new efficiency measures to prepare for Oakland's growth, including a common online portal to transact business with all four of the port's marine terminals and refined metrics to gauge transaction times. Port leadership credited the task force for 2016 measures that accelerated cargo movement. Those included extended gate hours for trucker transactions and appointments to pick up cargo.

"We outperformed the marketplace," Lytle told the task force. "And you had a lot to do with that."

The port reported $338 million in operating revenue for fiscal year 2016, an all-time high, despite experiencing the bankruptcy of its second-largest marine terminal tenant.

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Infrastructure Transportation industry California
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