HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii is building a new terminal to boost the amount of cargo that can be brought into its ports. ADVERTISING HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii is building a new terminal to boost the amount of cargo that can
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii is building a new terminal to boost the amount of cargo that can be brought into its ports.
The new $266 million container terminal will be built in Honolulu across a channel from Sand Island. It will span 94 acres and is expected to boost cargo capacity by one-third.
The state’s final environmental impact report was released and is expected to be approved, paving the way for construction to begin.
Workers started knocking down vacant buildings at the former Kapalama Military Reservation site.
Officials have been saying the state needs a new cargo facility for 25 years, but terminal capacity hasn’t expanded in three decades. About 80 percent of Hawaii’s goods are imported, and officials say most of those goods come through commercial harbors.
When planning for the facility began nearly a decade ago, officials were predicting that Honolulu Harbor would start feeling the pinch on cargo capacity by 2015 and that a lack of space would impact the economy by 2020. Then cargo volume dropped by 15 percent during the recession. After stabilizing in 2010, growth over the past few years has been disappointing, said state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Caroline Sluyter.
But the island’s population and economy is expected to grow, so it’s financially prudent to make improvements to provide for the future needs of the state, she said.
The plan is to finance the project through revenue bonds, harbor tariffs and leases.
Planners expect the facility to be completed by 2016.
