A record $2.3 billion in contracts have been awarded to Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) for the redevelopment of John Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
With construction of new airport facilities fully underway, MWBE participation at JFK will continue to break records until the redevelopment is complete in 2028. JFK redevelopment includes a significant focus on working with local contractors, awarding more than $950 million in contracts to Queens-based businesses to date.
JFK also surpasses the LaGuardia Airport (LGA) redevelopment, which set the previous New York State record for MWBE participation in a public-private project with $2.2 billion in contracts awarded.
“The Port Authority is committed to supporting inclusiveness in the design, financing, construction and operation of our major redevelopment projects across the region by setting ambitious goals for MWBE participation,” said Kevin O’Toole, chair of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “Just as we’ve done at Newark-Liberty’s new Terminal A and at LaGuardia Airport, JFK’s redevelopment is a game-changer for MWBE firms that were too often left on the sidelines during these historic capital projects.”
As the $19 billion JFK project moves forward, additional contracts with MWBE firms will be awarded to meet with the Port Authority’s goal of 30 percent MWBE participation for the agency’s capital projects, consistent with Governor Hochul’s nation-leading goals for MWBE utilization in state projects. The Port Authority is working closely with its private terminal developer partners – the New Terminal One, Delta Air Lines and JFKIAT, JFK Millennium Partners, and American Airlines – to engage minority and women-owned businesses and to date, 680 MWBEs have been awarded contracts at JFK along with more than 200 businesses based in Queens.
“When we embarked on this historic, $19 billion public-private effort to transform JFK into a world-class international gateway we pledged that the economic opportunities generated at the airport would flow fairly to the neighborhood surrounding the airport,” said Rick Cotton, PANYNJ executive director. “Working with our private partners at JFK and with our JFK Redevelopment Community Advisory Council, we have turned that pledge into economic reality for hundreds of MWBEs and local businesses.”
