LONG BEACH, CALIF. (AP) -- The Port of Long Beach is finalizing a $4.6 billion lease with a major Hong Kong-based shipping container line.

The deal involves the California harbor's largest-ever terminal upgrade and expansion. When completed, it is expected to add 15,000 jobs to the local economy.

Port of Long Beach executive J. Christopher Lytle is expected to announce Wednesday that a tentative 40-year lease has been struck with Orient Overseas Container Line, commonly known as OOCL.
OOCL has a fleet of 84 owned and chartered ships and is the world's 12th largest ocean shipping line.

Long Beach ranks second to the neighboring Port of Los Angeles in the number of cargo containers handled.

Lytle tells the Los Angeles Times that the record deal is a vote of confidence for the port's future.

(COPYRIGHT 2012 BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)