The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach received 15.4 million U.S. dollars worth of grants to protect against terrorist attacks, the Department of Homeland Security announced Friday.

The Port of Los Angeles received 6.5 million dollars, while the Port of Long Beach received 8.9 million from the Department of Homeland Security's 2007 Port Security Grant Program, which doled out 210 million dollars worth of awards this year.

The grants will go toward installing surveillance and communications systems.

"The Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport Complex is a critical asset to the nation's economic infrastructure and must be protected," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. "This grant money will allow us to strengthen our ports, which are moving the goods that are moving the national economy."

International trade activity in the two ports is expected to reach record levels this year, rising to more than 375 billion dollars, according to the World Trade Center Association (WTCA).

The total number of containers handled at the ports would increase this year by 9.2 percent to 17.2 million TEUs (twenty- foot container equivalent units), said WTCA.

Source: Xinhua