11
may
2014
infrastructure
investor
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
NORTH AMERICA
FOUR SHORTLISTED FOR
PENNSYLVANIA BRIDGES
Pennsylvania’s Department of Transporta-
tion (PennDOT) has invited four consor-
tia to submit proposals for its RapidBridge
Replacement project, which involves the
replacement of at least 500 bridges within
the state.
The four teams that will bid todevelop,
design, build, finance and maintain the
portfolio of bridges are:
• PlenaryWalshKeystone Partners: team-
ing Plenary Group with The Walsh
Group;
• Keystone Bridge Partners: comprising
InfraRed Capital Partners and Kiewit;
• CommonwealthBridge Partners: ledby
JohnLaing Investments and Fluor; and
• Pennsylvania Crossings: teaming
Meridiam Infrastructure with AECOM.
In addition to providing financing
for the project, the winning teamwill also
operate andmaintain the bridges for a yet-
to-be-determined number of years under
one contract, while the state will continue
to own the bridges. PennDOT expects to
select a preferred bidder this autumn.
Pennsylvania has identified 4,500
structurally-deficient bridges throughout
the state. The RapidBridge Replacement
project initially aimed to replace 200 to
300 bridges but inNovember 2013, Gover-
nor Corbett signed a transportation fund-
ing bill into law, making an additional $2.3
billion to $2.4 billion available for bridge
and road repairs andupgrades. As a result,
the project was expanded to include at
least 500 bridges.
PORT AUTHORITY DISQUALIFIES
ASUR FROM LAGUARDIA
Mexican airport operator Grupo Aero-
portuario del Sureste (ASUR) was dis-
qualified by the Port Authority of New
York andNew Jersey frombidding for the
$3.6 billion redevelopment of LaGuardia
Airport, one of threemajor airports in the
New York metropolitan area.
As a result, the Aerostar consortium,
of which ASUR is a 50 percent equity
member, is no longer participating in
the bidding process. The consortium’s
other equity member is fund manager
Highstar Capital.
While ASUR announced the disquali-
fication, it did not disclose the reason for
it. The Port Authority, which operates
LaGuardia, declined to comment on
the matter.
Aerostar was one of four shortlisted
teams the Port Authority had selected in
July 2013 that would compete to design,
build, finance, operate and maintain the
airport’s central terminal building (CTB).
The project involves demolishing the
existing 835,000-square foot CTB and
replacing it with a 1.3million-square foot,
35-gate terminal building, according to the
airport operator’s website. Its surround-
ing infrastructure, which includes frontage
roads, aprons, utilities, a central heating
and refrigerationplant and other support
facilities, will also be replaced.
P3s CONSIDERED FOR WIRELESS
WATERWAY
The Port of PittsburghCommission (PPC),
the government agency thatmanages the
country’s third-busiest inland port, has
asked private entities to provide feedback
and input related toprojects PPC is consid-
ering to further develop communications
along the navigable inland waterways of
Pennsylvania and the US.
PPC is already deploying, along with
its non-profit subsidiary Pittsburgh Port
Technology, Inc. (PPTi), an initial phase
ofWirelessWaterways (WW), a systemthat
provides wireless communication along
100 river miles in the Keystone State, on
the Ohio, Allegheny and Monongahela
Rivers.
The initial phase of the WW project
includes the following components:
• The Wireless Waterway Network – a
hybrid broadband communications
network covering about 100 rivermiles
near Pittsburgh;
We take a look at the key public-private partnership developments from around the
world over the last month
PPP round-up
La Guardia
: ASUR can’t check in
Port of Pittsburgh
: wants feedback
