Denver International (DEN) will begin negotiations with a consortium led by Ferrovial Airports for the renovation of the “Great Hall” at the airport, spokesperson Heath Montgomery confirmed.
On Monday, the Denver City Council voted 10-2 to allow DEN to move forward with the negotiations, which are intended to refine the scope, financial terms and schedule for a potential long-term agreement. The negotiations are expected to last about six months.
If a deal is not reached, the city of Denver will pay the Ferrovial consortium a maximum of $9 million. DEN spokesperson Heath Montgomery says the money is set aside to pay the Ferrovial team for tangible deliverables over the next six months. The airport will retain the intellectual property generated.
The Great Hall project includes an extensive upgrade to the main terminal at DEN, which spans over 70,000 square meters of floor space. If successful, Ferrovial will lead and execute the construction work in cooperation with local partner Saunders Construction. The upgrade work will include:
- creating new shopping and foodservice areas,
- relocating and expanding the TSA screening areas,
- improving building access and passenger flow,
- developing new check-in areas, and
- optimizing space and efficiency in the terminal.
A deal with DEN would mark Ferrovial’s first major investment in a U.S. airport. The Spanish company is one of the world’s largest private-sector airport operators. It is currently the main shareholder and industrial partner of Heathrow (LHR) and operates Aberdeen (ABZ), Glasgow (GKA) and Southampton (SOU) in the U.K.
DEN has experienced strong passenger growth recently. July was the 11th consecutive month of record-setting passenger traffic at the airport. Year-to-date passenger traffic at DEN was 7.2 percent higher than during the same time in 2015, with more than 33 million passengers through the end of July.
