With the port’s high-profile Pier B rail project ranking among the highest expenditures, the Long Beach harbor commission has approved a $1.05 billion annual budget for the coming fiscal year.

Budgeted spending for the 2027 fiscal year — which in Long Beach begins Oct. 1 — is 28.6% higher than estimated spending in the 2026 fiscal year, with about 55% of the coming year’s spending tied to capital investments in rail, zero emissions, technology and other improvements designed to handle growing cargo volumes while minimizing environmental impacts.

The variance reflects a 53.7% increase in capital expenditures at the Port of Long Beach compared to the prior year, to $571.8 million, as work accelerates on delivering the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility, the port’s largest project. The boost in spending is also aligned with delivering the infrastructure necessary to realize Port of Long Beach CEO Noel Hacegaba’s 2050 vision to double cargo to 20 million containers annually by mid-century while becoming the first zero-emissions port in the world.

The 10-year, $3.3 billion capital improvement program is the largest of any port in the nation, according to information provided by the Port of Long Beach.

Next year’s budget also includes $54 million in Clean Trucks Program subsidies to support truck drivers and trucking companies as they transition to zero-emissions, heavy-duty drayage trucks.

“This budget sends a strong signal to our supply chain partners that we are bullish on the future and committed to doubling our cargo capacity by 2050,” Hacegaba said in a written statement. “Our industry-leading $3.3 billion capital improvement plan will help us get there as we transform our operations and build the ‘Port of the Future.’”

Pier B, which broke ground in July 2024 and is expected to be completed in 2032, will triple the port’s on-dock rail capacity and trim the time it takes to move cargo from ship to rail from four days to 24 hours, enhancing the efficiency of moving goods in Southern California and the entire U.S. supply chain. Individual construction projects are underway.

In late summer, the Long Beach City Council will also consider approving the budget. It includes a $28.7 million estimated transfer to the City’s Tidelands Operating Fund, supporting quality-of-life projects along Long Beach’s 7-mile coastline to improve shoreline safety, cleanliness, water quality, facilities and other amenities.

“Our success has always depended on staying ahead of the demands of a rapidly changing global supply chain and investing for the future,” Long Beach harbor commission President Frank Colonna said in a written statement. “This budget strengthens our competitive position to move more goods, faster and more sustainably.”

Operating revenue is estimated to be relatively flat at $577.9 million, 0.6% higher than last year.