by Ken Quintanilla

Guam - An updated version of the Port Authority of Guam's Modernization Plan was submitted to the Guam Legislature. General manager Joanne Brown says the revised plan is scaled down from the original proposal generated back in 2007 proposing $200 million worth of upgrades to the port's facilities.

"Obviously because the reality has changed, the timeline and scale under which the military buildup will occur, the Port has also had to address that and align the reality of the funding coming in with a desired capacity that's needed and so certainly the new master plan essentially provides those changes and takes that into consideration and provides more realistic operation here in term of our operation and facilities here at the port," she explained.

Brown says the reduced figure now reflects $50 million provided from the Department of Defense through MARAD. Once the plan is approved by the Guam Legislature, she says it will coincide with a five-year rate petition that will go before the Public Utilities Commission. During today's port board meeting, management indicated that oversight chair Senator Tom Ada has already scheduled a public hearing on the plan for March 13 at 4pm in order to put it on the March 25 legislative session.