New York paralyzes a huge train project to LaGuardia Airport

The state of New York has halted the giant project to build a train to LaGuardia Airport known as the LaGuardia AirTrain, worth 2.1 billion dollars in which Spanish construction companies ACS and OHLA, jointly with Aecom (USA) and Mitsubishi (Japan), are competing.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reported in a report a release Who made this decision at the request of New York Governor Cathy Hochhol, who asked to study alternatives to the original project.

“At the request of Governor Hochhol, the Port Authority is conducting a comprehensive review of possible alternative public transportation options for LaGuardia Airport,” the statement said.

He specified that he would establish contacts with independent experts and relevant parties with the intention of completing as soon as possible, but without giving up a “rigorous and comprehensive” review.

“During the review, the Port Authority has suspended future actions related to the LaGuardia AirTrain project,” the official memo reads.

In August, the Port Authority announced the names of the four finalist groups that aspire to build the train. Among them are LGA Xpress Partners, where the companies headed by Florentino Perez and Luis Amodio are included.

Initially, the four teams selected must submit their proposals before April 2022 and the final selection is scheduled for August next year.

LaGuardia AirTrain is a project written by Andrew Cuomo

The train to LaGuardia Airport, in New York’s Queens borough, was one of the most notable infrastructure projects for then-Governor Andrew Cuomo, who resigned after a series of allegations of sexual abuse as well as misconduct.

This initiative has been criticized by politicians and organizations in Queens who claim that the authorities have abandoned alternative projects (some with lower environmental impact and cost) without giving them due attention.

Recently, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, an avowed enemy of Cuomo, insisted that the governor’s resignation provides an opportunity to review all of his projects.