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Hawaii’s commercial ports move toward a new era Hawaii is also moving forward with two U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Ports grants. One sup- ported the state’s first baseline port emissions inventory, which has now been completed. “By changing the methodology, we basically cut our carbon footprint in half by counting the things that should be counted and then excluding the things that really aren’t part of our port operations,” Kalili said.
A fter nearly eight years of con- struction, Hawaii’s Kapalama Container Terminal (KCT) is finally nearing completion. Dre Kalili, Deputy Director of Transportation overseeing Hawaii’s commercial port system, said this time the long-prom- ised milestone is real. “We can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our current construction schedule shows that we’ll be doing final inspec- tions before the end of the calendar year,” she said, adding that operators of KCT, Pasha Hawaii, will start their operations within a few months fol- lowing the hand-over. A significant milestone for the pro- ject came with the arrival of three new gantry cranes, which departed the Port of Los Angeles for Honolulu in August. “That’s a big visible milestone for the terminal that has been under construction for nearly eight years and has been conceptualized for last three decades,” Kalili said. KCT, however, is just one compon- ent of a broader transformation under- way across Hawaii’s commercial port system. Federal funding is supporting redevelopment at one of Hawaii’s Big Island ports, where growing cargo vol- umes are creating significant capacity pressures: “The container stacks now exceed the height of our light poles.”
Another major Clean Ports initia- tive will see 57 diesel yard tractors operated by Matson replaced with 57 hydrogen-powered tractors. “We’re working with Matson to swap out 57 diesel yard tractors for 57 hydro- gen ones,” Kalili said. “So that’s very exciting work.” At the same time, Hawaii is look- ing decades into the future as it plans for climate resilience, particularly the impacts of sea-level rise. “Our studies show that at our most critical cargo ter- minal, we will have less than a foot and a half of free board by the year 2100 on just regular high tide,” she said. “That’s not enough for our container ships to come into port and safely dock and discharge cargo.” Planning is now underway to deter- mine what infrastructure investments will be required to protect Hawaii’s
DreanaLee Kalili, Hawaii DOT, Ports & Harbors
ports and maintain reliable cargo oper- ations for future generations. “There’s a lot of work in terms of planning and then, of course, executing those plans to again make sure our ports are resili- ent for the people who need them to be generations from now,” Kalili said. For Hawaii’s Department of Transportation, the completion of KCT represents an important mile- stone but is also part of a much larger effort to expand capacity, reduce emis- sions and ensure the state’s commercial ports remain resilient for decades to come.
October 2026 — PACIFIC PORTS — 15
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