Hirono Announces $47.3 Million in Federal Funding for Kapalama Container Terminal Project

HONOLULU, HI – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), today announced a $47.3 million grant through U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) for the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s (HDOT) Kapalama Container Terminal (KCT) Project at Honolulu Harbor. The grant is funded through MARAD’s Port Infrastructure Development Program and will be used to improve efficiency and resiliency and reduce emissions at the Harbor. In June, Senator Hirono and the Hawaii congressional delegation wrote to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in support of this funding and earlier this month, she visited the harbor to highlight the importance of federal funding for the harbor and the KCT expansion project.

“My recent visit to Honolulu Harbor highlighted how critical it is to Hawaii’s economy, handling more than 11 million tons of cargo every year,” said Senator Hirono. “The infusion of federal funding into the Kapalama Container Terminal Project will help improve the Honolulu Harbor’s resilience and efficiency by electrifying the harbor’s cranes and installing an electrical micro-grid, solar panels, and batteries to store power. As work continues to expand the harbor’s capacity, this federal funding will help reduce the harbor’s environmental impact and make it more resilient to threats including climate change, helping more cargo reach families and businesses across the islands quickly and efficiently. I’ll continue working to secure the federal funding Hawaii needs to strengthen our infrastructure and ensure the reliability of our supply chains.”

The federal funding will be matched by $92 million in private funds. Specifically, the funding will support four activities, including:

1. Upgrades to human-operated electrified ship-to-shore cranes, acquisition of new equipment, and installation of solar panels on terminal buildings that will improve the reliability of port operations;
2. Smart gate and security technology to improve safety and operational efficiency;
3. An electrical micro-grid to improve resilience to power outages; and,
4. In collaboration with local communities and stakeholders, development of a Facility Resiliency Plan and a Terminal Electrification Plan to support additional environmental and resilience improvements in the future.

Last year, Senator Hirono helped secure $800,000 in federal funding for the Army Corps of Engineers to do a feasibility study on navigation improvements in Honolulu Harbor and features that would make the harbor more resilient to natural disasters and sea level rise resulting from climate change, consistent with the HDOT’s 2050 Master Plan for the harbor. In August, Senator Hirono helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which established a new Grants to Reduce Air Pollution at Ports program at EPA, appropriating $3 billion available through 2026. Last year, she helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which invests more than $17 billion in port infrastructure and waterways, including funding for the Port Infrastructure Development Program that made today’s award to KCT.

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