Port Of San Francisco Signs Deal To Process Car Shipments
KCBS' Anna Duckworth reports on the agreement celebrated today that city leaders say brings back maritime jobs to the waterfront.
Pier 80 is the city's primary cargo terminal, but ship traffic had nearly disappeared since the recession hit.
Interim Port Director Elaine Forbes said the new lease deal with San Rafael-based Pasha Automotive Services will be a boon for the city.
"The Pasha Group will build an import and export business that will include preparation of these automobiles. Think of a mini auto plant. The vehicles will be trucked from Pier 80 to Northern California to dealerships," Forbes said.
At an inaugural celebration Monday, Mayor Ed Lee said the agreement will help revitalize the city's waterfront, and that at least 50 percent of the jobs will go to residents in the Bayview neighborhood.
"These are jobs for our present, our future. They've been working-class jobs that we always said we're going to bring back to San Francisco. It's not just tech jobs, hotel jobs, and hospital jobs," Lee said.
Pasha has similar operations at several other U.S. ports, and plans to process up to 200,000 vehicles here per year.