March 23 - The Port of Portland will receive US$16.3 million in federal stimulus grants, with the largest grant, about US$8.9 million, going towards crane and wharf modernisation projects at the port's Terminal 6.

Port Executive Director Bill Wyatt said: "This funding will help keep critical projects on track."

At Terminal 6 about US$1.6 million will be used to install modern motor drives and a new programmable logic controller in one of the nine cranes used to haul cargo on and off ships. The crane, first installed in 1991, is the port's heavy lift crane and is one of its largest and most heavily used.