Port Authority of Guam Hotel Wharf to Undergo $20M Rehabilitation

August 1, 2016

686

The Port will be providing a matching share of $10 million, making the total project cost for the hotel wharf rehabilitation at $20 million.

Guam – The Port Authority of Guam Hotel or “H” Wharf will be undergoing a major makeover thanks to $10 million dollars from TIGER Grant.

According to a release, the Port will be upgrading or rebuilding the 500-foot structure to accommodate berthing space for passenger or cruise ships, research vessels, commercial activities, import of vehicles and fishing activities. Another objective is for the “H” Wharf to become the 16th Strategic Seaport in the U.S. providing additional berthing space for US Military operations. Port General Manager Joanne Brown says the wharf was built in 1948 and since then, it has not been utilized properly. The Port will be providing a matching share of $10 million, making the total project cost for the hotel wharf rehabilitation at $20 million.

Brown explains, “For Guam and the neighboring islands in the Micronesia, our oceans are our roads and they are our train tracks. We actually put those words in our application so that they could understand how critical this investment would be for the hotel wharf not just for us but for the region. We have a role here in Guam assisting and providing cargo to our neighboring islands. We felt this is a critical investment and we wanted to make Washington DC understand what a critical investment this was.”

Brown says they are currently moving through the process with a five-year petition with the Port Authority Board and then they will be discussing long-term financing with the Public Utilities Commission.