The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey will invest $8 billion over 10 years on improvements to its aviation assets, with major terminal redevelopments slated for both LaGuardia (LGA) and Newark Liberty International (EWR).
The authority’s proposed capital plan for aviation is part of a larger $27.6 billion, 10-year spending plan for the group, which also manages tunnels, bridges, the PATH train and the World Trade Center Redevelopment in New York and New Jersey.
PANYNJ’s plans were revealed just a few days before Vice President Joe Biden likened LGA to “a third-world country,” a comment that had some, including New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, bristling, but that also brought the issue of aviation infrastructure investment to the fore.
“Vice President Biden’s comments regarding LaGuardia Airport were blunt, but they put into sharp relief the fact that the U.S. needs to get serious about infrastructure investment, especially in our nation’s airports,” Kevin M. Burke, ACI-NA president and CEO, said in a statement.
He took the opportunity to push for changes in the current caps on passenger facility charges, which help fund airport improvements.
PANYNJ says a $3.6 billion Central Terminal Building redevelopment at LGA is underway, and the agency plans to select a private-sector partner in the first half of this year. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office has management responsibility for the project.
Plans call for construction of a new terminal to replace the existing 1964 Central Terminal Building and associated aeronautical ramps, utilities, roadway network and other supporting infrastructure. The project includes a new 35-gate terminal, 70 acres of aeronautical ramps, frontage roads and other related facilities.
The $2 billion EWR Terminal A redevelopment project includes construction of a new 33-gate terminal (expandable to 45 gates), 144 acres of associated airfield work, a new roadway system and a 3,000-space parking garage.
In addition, PANYNJ has budgeted $71 million for rehabilitation of Stewart International’s (SWF) two main runways.
Separately, the aviation division’s core spending program consists of 188 projects with $4.7 billion to be invested over the next 10 years. Of the core projects, 104 of them, or 75 percent, are for state-of-good repair work.
