Space in congested Honolulu Harbor will be cleared to allow a prospective third major ocean cargo carrier to launch a new service from the mainland in 2020.

Gov. David Ige and state Department of Transportation officials announced an arrangement today that allows TOTE Inc. to move ahead with plans it disclosed in August.

Ige said TOTE’s move, along with upgrading harbor facilities to make them more efficient, would provide more shipping options for businesses and could lead to more competitive pricing and lower costs for consumers.

Under the arrangement, TOTE will use 45 acres at Piers 1 and 2 on the Diamond Head side of the harbor on the edge of Kakaako.

As for the two existing carriers, Matson Inc. will gain use of an entire 130-acre container yard at Sand Island, and Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines will move from part of that area at Sand Island and Piers 1 and 2 to what is to become a new container terminal long planned by the state at the harbor’s Ewa end where Kapalama Military Reservation once existed.

Work on the Kapalama site is slated to begin in December and finish in 2022.

Work on Piers 1 and 2 is projected to be done by 2020 when TOTE intends to begin service using two new ships. TOTE plans to add two additional ships in 2021.