The Port of Tacoma has issued $100 million in revenue bonds with an effective fixed interest rate of less than four percent.

Port of Tacoma Deputy Executive Director John Wolfe explained the bond revenues will be used over the next year to help fund land purchases, rail improvements and redevelopment of the former Kaiser Aluminum smelter site into a marine terminal.

"Last year, we opened three new container terminals at a total capital cost of $240 million - and we are preparing for more growth in the future," said Wolfe, noting the Port's five-year, $434 million capital improvement program. "We are investing in our inland infrastructure - roads and Port-area rail - to ensure our future as a center for trade, a place that our customers can continue to be successful and our role as a creator of jobs for our region."

According to Jeff Smith, the Port's Senior Director of Finance and Administration, comparing this bond issue to current competitive fixed-rate revenue bonds, the Port's effective interest rate at less than four percent will save an estimated $660,000 for the first year of issuance and more than $12 million over the 30-year life of the bond.

The $100 million bond issue, funded through Lehman Brothers, was approved by the Port of Tacoma Commission on July 27, 2006 and executed on August 3, 2006.