The Port of Oakland has received a
commitment of $242 million in bond funding from the California Transportation
Commission for the redevelopment of the former Oakland Army Base.
On a unanimous vote, the commission decided
Aug. 22 to approve the port’s plan for the project and allocate the funds.
The Oakland Army Base, or OAB, project
involves a transformation of the former base into a trade and logistics center
to strengthen the port’s position as a West Coast export gateway on the US West
Coast.
“Ultimately, this state-of-the-art facility
will enhance rail connections, increase global business opportunities and
support thousands of construction jobs,” Port of Oakland Commission President
Gilda Gonzales said.
Oakland is the third-busiest seaport in
California – after the adjoining ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach – and
handles 99 percent of all containerized goods moving through Northern
California.
“The unanimous vote by the California
Transportation Commission approving the plan for the Oakland Army Base Project
is a vote of confidence in our vision for the Oakland working waterfront,”
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said in a prepared statement released by the port. “I am extremely pleased and thank the
CTC. This will create thousands of jobs and ensure Oakland will remain a key
global economic engine in the future.”
The CTC decision is just the latest in
approved funding for the project. In July, US Secretary of Transportation Ray
LaHood and California Gov. Jerry Brown Jr. visited the Port of Oakland to
announce $15 million in federal grant funding for the OAB project, which is
scheduled to break ground by the end of 2013. Completion is projected for 2015.
