Visiting cabinet member assesses Port

Guam - The Port Authority of Guam continues to wait for progress and funding to begin long overdue modernization projects at the facility. A cabinet member under President Barack Obama's administration was on island taking in concerns and plans from the island's chief executive and Port management to determine just how those projects can get going.

It's U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood's third trip ever to Guam, about which he said, "in the last four years that we have been in this job as secretary of transportation our department has invested in 19 ports in the U.S. and we are proud of that as we believe ports are an economic engine."

LaHood says that's evident by what he observed during his tour of Guam's port Saturday. But his thoughts are no where near surprising, adding, "This is an antiquated port, this port needs to get into the 21st Century. This island is going to continue to grow and the people are going to benefit from imports tan this port has to be fixed up."

Governor Eddie Calvo, Port general manager Mary Torres, and several other government and military officials guided the secretary through the more than four-decade-old facility. Torres says they informed LaHood of a key item for the Port's modernization , the seismic risk analysis, is now done. LaHood says he's now ready to assist in providing mechanisms needed to improve the Port. "We will, now that the study has been completed and once the board has taken action on that study, the DOT will become very good partners for this port and do all that we can to be helpful in terms of ensuring new infrastructure, possibility for expanding capacity for the Port, possibility of the jobs that will be created by fixing up bit more importantly the expansion and capacity," he said.

As for the $50 million the Port has been trying to secure from the Defense Department, he says,"What I am going do when I go back to Washington is meet with secretary (Leon) Panetta and talk about the visit to the Port, talk about commitment of DOT to this port."

When asked that since much criticism existing about MARAD and how they may have contributed to the delays for the Port modernization efforts, LaHood said, "We don't go into communities pointing fingers, we come here with an outreached hand and to say what I said - we are going to be partners -that's what we do."

Secretary LaHood also met with several Federal Aviation Administration officials during his visit, thanking them for their service.