The Port of Long Beach and shipping company Orient Overseas Container Line signed a $4.6 billion, 40-year lease agreement this week for OOCL to lease the port's new Middle Harbor, currently under construction.

The lease will give OOCL, a customer of the port since 1969, and its subsidiary, Long Beach Container Terminal, exclusive use of Middle Harbor, which port officials say will be the most advanced port yet, with technology to lower environmental impact.

Some of the new technology that will affect trucking companies and truckers, says Dan Snyder, director of trade development for the port, includes optical character recognition to get license plate and container numbers speeds gate process. They also plan to use RFID tags for all trucks going in and out, so all driver and truck information gets into the system very quickly.

OOCL is also looking at different operating systems that will help make sure the transfer of cargo between the trucks and terminal operations is as efficient as possible, Snyder says.

The project, estimated to take five to six years, will connect two old shipping terminals encompassing 294 acres into the new 330-acre Middle Harbor terminal, reports the Contra Costa Times. The Times says the terminal has the potential to make Port of Long Beach the busiest in the U.S., even pushing past the Port of Los Angeles.