31/08/2026
PORT NEWS: Port Board Reviews FY2026 Progress, Approves FY2027 Budget and Continues Port Modernization
Piti, Guam, August 31, 2026: The Port Authority of Guam Board of Directors reviewed the Port’s FY26 Year End Report and approved the FY2027 Budget Act today as part of several actions continuing the modernization of Guam’s only commercial seaport while strengthening operational readiness, financial stewardship, infrastructure, and long-term institutional capacity.
In addition to approving the FY2027 budget, the Board elected its officers, naming Frank P. Arriola as Chairperson, Mark Mendiola as Vice Chairperson and Fe Valencia-Ovalles as Board Secretary.
Management presented the FY2026 Year End Report as a comprehensive review of the Port’s operations, financial stewardship, infrastructure investments, equipment, workforce, security, technology, commercial activities, and major initiatives during the fiscal year.
The report reflects a year in which the Port continued its modernization while maintaining daily vessel and cargo operations through severe weather, aging equipment, changing vessel schedules, workforce demands, periods of constrained cargo handling capacity, and regional recovery requirements. It also identifies where progress was made, where challenges remain, and how those experiences are shaping priorities for FY2027.
“The Fiscal Year 2026 Year End Report gives the Board and the public an opportunity to look at the Port as a whole,” General Manager Rory J. Respicio said. “It shows where we made progress, where we faced challenges, and where more work remains. That accountability is important because our FY2027 priorities should be understood in the context of the work already underway.”
The FY2027 Budget Act builds upon that record and continues the Port’s Operate. Stabilize. Modernize. These are not separate stages with fixed beginning and ending points. They represent the continuing responsibility to keep the Port operating, strengthen areas that require attention, and make the long-term investments necessary to serve Guam.
The FY2027 proposed budget projects approximately $60.4 million in cargo and non-cargo operating revenues and $58.4 million in operating expenses, resulting in approximately $2 million in projected operating income. Including other income and expense, Crane operations, and Facility Maintenance Fee activity, the Port projects approximately $8.7 million in total net income for FY2027.
Compared with the FY2026 approved budget, operating revenues are projected to increase by approximately $3.3 million while operating expenses increase by approximately $1.8 million. Projected operating income increases from approximately $430,000 in the FY2026 approved budget to approximately $2 million in FY2027.
“Our modernization did not begin with this budget, and it will not end with it,” Respicio said. “We have set our priority on strengthening the Port while continuing to operate it every day. FY2027 is about carrying that work forward, addressing the areas where we still need to improve, and institutionalizing the systems, capabilities, and accountability necessary to sustain our progress.”
A major FY2027 priority is cargo handling equipment reliability. The reduction in Top Loader availability during FY2026 demonstrated the relationship between equipment condition, yard productivity, truck turnaround, cargo access, vessel support, and customer service.
The Port has begun implementing corrective measures and will continue strengthening preventive and predictive maintenance, critical spare parts availability, maintenance information, specialized technical support, equipment stewardship, and replacement planning. The Port will also continue pursuing Marine Highway grant funding for three additional Top Loaders and advance a Performance Management Contract intended to supplement the Port’s Equipment Maintenance workforce with specialized technical support, training, parts management assistance, diagnostics, and measurable performance standards.
The FY2027 plan also prepares the Port for approximately $60 million in investment for three new ship to shore gantry cranes. The effort will address not only acquisition, but also engineering, supporting infrastructure, project management, training, maintenance, critical spare parts, and the technical capability necessary to sustain the cranes throughout their useful lives.
“Modernization is not simply buying new equipment,” Respicio said. “We have to be able to operate it, maintain it, plan for its replacement, and develop the people and systems necessary to sustain it. The measure of success is not acquisition. It is long term reliability.”
With more than $300 million in identified capital needs and an expanding portfolio of federally supported projects, the FY2027 Budget Act also strengthens the process for developing, evaluating, funding, delivering, commissioning, and closing capital projects. The Board approved Capital Improvement Program remains the framework, with defined responsibilities for Engineering, Planning, Finance, and management.
Technology and workforce capacity remain part of that effort. The Port will continue development of its Terminal Operating System and other information capabilities while strengthening cybersecurity, data governance, training, and internal capacity. The Port will also continue the vacancy pool approach established in FY2020, conduct a comprehensive compensation review and management study, and place greater emphasis on skilled trades, technical development, succession planning, and training.
“The objective is not simply a larger organization,” Respicio said. “It is a more capable one. As our equipment, technology, infrastructure, and responsibilities change, we have to make sure our workforce and organizational structure change with them.”
The FY2027 Budget Act also authorizes management to make necessary budget transfers and realignments when immediate action is required and the Board is unable to establish a quorum, subject to subsequent reporting to the Board. The provision is intended to provide operational flexibility while maintaining Board oversight and accountability.
“This is very similar to what we did in FY2026,” Board Member Conchita S.N. Taitano said. “We understand that flexibility is very important.”
The Board also supported an operational policy governing the use and allocation of cargo handling and support resources during emergencies, recovery periods, and other constrained operations.
“This is part of what operational resilience means,” Respicio said. “We have to plan for normal operations, but we also have to be prepared for conditions that are not normal. The Port needs a clear framework that allows us to keep cargo moving safely and responsibly.”
The Board also advanced critical fuel infrastructure through action involving the F1 Pier and Golf Pier fuel pipeline connectivity project and addressed continued commercial use of Port assets, including Hotel Wharf property and the Marina Grill property at the Agat Marina.
“These properties belong to the Port, and ultimately to the people of Guam,” Respicio said. “Our responsibility is to manage them in a way that supports Port operations, generates appropriate value, improves our facilities, and protects the public interest.”
Financial sustainability also remains central to the Port’s modernization. The Board addressed Moody’s Ratings’ August 2026 action and the pending Public Utilities Commission tariff proceeding. The Port continues to pursue tariff adjustments intended to better align the cost of providing affected labor and equipment services with the rates charged for those services.
The FY2027 Budget Act also continues financial and management controls developed over successive fiscal years, including budget transfer and realignment authority provided to Port management since FY2019. The Port will establish performance measures for significant operating, capital, equipment, technology, maintenance, and modernization initiatives and develop a rolling multiyear financial and operating outlook.
“Financial discipline must become institutional discipline,” Respicio said. “Preventive maintenance must become standard practice. Capital accountability must become part of governance. Technology must become part of everyday operations. And the investments we make today must result in assets and systems the Port can sustain.”
Respicio credited the Port’s employees and management team, the Board of Directors, Governor Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero and Lieutenant Governor Joshua F. Tenorio, the Guam Legislature, federal partners, Port users, tenants, contractors, and other stakeholders for supporting the Port’s continuing progress.
“The objective is bigger than any one fiscal year or any one administration,” Respicio said. “We are strengthening the systems, infrastructure, and institutional capacity needed to build a Port that will endure beyond any one individual. That is ultimately what modernization and stewardship require.”
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