Donation Acceptance Agreements pave way for new port of entry at Otay Mesa East

SAN DIEGO — Today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the General Services Administration, the California Department of Transportation, and the San Diego Association of Governments announced the execution of Donation Acceptance Agreements formalizing their agreement to construct a new 21st-century border crossing for the San Diego-Baja, California region.

“We are grateful to our federal, state, and regional partners for their continued commitment to making the Otay Mesa East Port of Entry a reality,” said Director of Field Operations for CBP San Diego Sidney Aki. “This project represents a long-anticipated investment in our border community that will strengthen security, improve efficiency, and support the economic livelihood of the San Diego region.”   

Caltrans and SANDAG have agreed to construct and donate to the Federal Government a new border crossing at Otay Mesa East, under GSA and CBP’s Donations Acceptance Program. As a key part of the $1.3 billion overall project, this $535 million joint venture for the Port of Entry will strengthen border security, enhance regional mobility, and fuel economic growth and binational trade.

“This agreement will strengthen our southern border while allowing for faster, safer trade," said Acting Commissioner of GSA’s Public Buildings Service in the Pacific Rim Region Amanda Sweeney,. "GSA is proud to work together with Caltrans, SANDAG and Customs and Border Protection on this innovative solution to deliver a new port of entry to the San Diego region with significant cost savings to American taxpayers.”

The Federal Project Agreement, executed in January 2025, established the general terms between the parties involved. The GSA and CBP Donation Acceptance Agreements subsequently formalize these terms, thereby authorizing the project team to advance to the construction phase of the project.

“The donation agreements with GSA and CBP are a significant milestone that represent our shared commitment to begin construction of the Otay Mesa East Port of Entry,” said SANDAG Chair and Solana Beach Mayor Lesa Heebner. “SANDAG is proud to be part of a binational effort rooted in binational collaboration. We look forward to continuing to work with our partners to deliver an innovative new land port of entry that will strengthen border security, bolster binational trade, fuel economic growth, and reduce wait times on both sides of the border.”

“The finalization of this agreement allows us to move to the final phase on this critical project, which is the construction of the Otay Mesa East Port of Entry facility," said California State Transportation Agency Secretary Toks Omishakin. “This state-of-the-art facility has the potential to significantly improve the lawful movement of goods while reducing congestion and wait times for businesses and workers at this new port of entry."

CBP and GSA are authorized to accept donations of real property, personal property (including monetary donations) and non-personal services from private sector and government entities. Accepted donations may be used for port-of-entry construction, alterations, operations and maintenance activities. 

Public-private partnerships are a key component of CBP’s Resource Optimization Strategy and allow CBP to provide new or expanded services and infrastructure at domestic ports of entry. For more information, visit www.cbp.gov/DAP.