By Vince Calio, June 5, 2017 at 12:51 PM
Amtrak and NJ Transit would use a new Gateway tunnel under the Hudson River. – (AARON HOUSTON)
Private firms will be sought to help finance and construct the $20 billion rail tunnel connecting northern New Jersey and New York City.
During its June 1 board meeting, the Gateway Program Development Board approved a move to solicit private construction and finance companies to complete the project under a public-private partnership model. In a typical P3 procurement model, private financial institutions would raise part of the money for a public project through a combination of debt and direct equity infusions, and then hire outside construction firms to complete it.
If implemented, the procurement model could pump several billion dollars into both New York and New Jersey’s economy, said the board’s chairman, Richard Bagger, during the meeting.
