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For Immediate Release
September 23, 2004
Oakland, Calif. (September 23, 2004 ) - The Port of Oakland says its Local Business Utilization policy (LBU) has proven very successful. The policy calls for the hiring of local contractors to perform at least 30 percent of the work on some of its construction projects. The Port’s prime builder for the Terminal Improvement Program (TIP) at Oakland International Airport, reports that approximately half the work on the renovation of Terminal 2 and the design of the parking garage has been contracted to date with 89 percent of it going to local business.
Patricia A. Scates, Port of Oakland’s Board President, says she is pleased with the results, “Turner Construction has stepped up to the plate and exceeded our requirements in such a way that it truly benefits our local business area.” In June of 2002 the Port made substantial changes to its procurement policies and required contractors to enlist local businesses to do at least 30 percent of the work on major development projects.
“Turner made a commitment to go beyond the Port’s requirement by promising to utilize local businesses on 45 percent of the work we’re doing at Oakland International Airport and we’ve made significant progress on that promise,” said Mike O'Brien, Turner’s Vice President and General Manager of the firm’s local construction office. “Turner also has a nationwide commitment to minority and women-owned businesses at 20 %. We’re delighted to report that on the port’s project we are above that figure at 23%,” added O’Brien.
At present the work contracted includes a wide range of disciplines such as design, electric, cement, masonry, demolition and plumbing. Bernida Reagan, Director of the Port of Oakland’s Social Responsibility Division, calls the contracting program precedent setting, “For the first time, the Port has minimum requirements for local inclusion as well as incentives for developers like Turner Construction to exceed those goals.” Reagan stated that based on these early results, “Turner is clearly maximizing its efforts to deliver real local economic benefits by contracting with small, local and minority firms in our impact area.”
Community partners have played an important role in these results by helping Turner and the Port to identify capable local vendors and contractors. In addition, many of the local chambers have held outreach events and utilized their databases to ensure that their members have access to the important economic opportunities on this project.
A local company principal, James Kennedy with Pyramid Business Solutions, Inc., is delighted with the opportunity related to the airport improvement projects, "The Port's policy that helps local business (LBU) gave my company an opportunity to provide services and products to Turner Construction. We now have several pre-construction contracts for installing their jobsite telecommunications and data networking infrastructure,” he acknowledged. “What we also appreciate is being able to participate in the Port's bonding program and the Port's on-line certification database. That means we can offer bids both directly and through other prime contractors for future work on the Terminal Improvement Program," said Kennedy.
Jerry Bridges, the Port of Oakland’s Executive Director, says the implementation of the Port’s Local Business Utilization (LBU) policy shows a continuing commitment to sustainability of which social equity is a key component, “We are doing what we said we would do from the very early planning for this project at Oakland International Airport and we’re gratified to see that it (LBU) brings very real benefits to our community.”
The Port of Oakland is the fourth largest containerport in the nation. Established in 1927 as an independent department of the City of Oakland, the Port spans 19 miles of waterfront, which includes Jack London Square, oversees more than 900 acres of maritime terminal facilities, and owns and operates one of the fastest-growing airports in the nation, Oakland International Airport.
Contact:
Marilyn Sandifur
Manager, Media/PR
(510) 627-1193
msandifur@portoakland.com |
