Work on the new LaGuardia Airport has resulted in a record $2 billion in contracts for minority and women-owned businesses (MWBE), New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a Nov. 30 statement.
The redevelopment project has also demonstrated a significant focus on working with locally-based contractors; to date, $775 million in contracts have been awarded to Queens-based local business enterprises.
The announcement was made at the community office of the LaGuardia Redevelopment project, located on Astoria Boulevard in East Elmhurst, where Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin joined Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Executive Director Rick Cotton and other members of the airport community.
“Today’s milestone is enormously significant as we work toward a more inclusive and equitable economic recovery, and it is in keeping with our nation-leading goal to increase Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises participation in public contracts to 30 percent,” Hochul said. “I commend the Port Authority for its commitment to breaking down barriers and leveling the playing field so that minority- and women-owned businesses have access to one of the nation’s greatest infrastructure projects at LaGuardia Airport. As one of the nation’s leading transportation agencies, the Port Authority is demonstrating what can be done to create more equity in our society and make sure that the economic benefits of great infrastructure projects reach all of our communities.”
On the eastern side of the airport, construction of Delta Air Lines’ new Terminal C arrivals and departures hall is rapidly advancing and anticipated to open in Spring 2022. The 1.3 million square foot terminal will feature 37 new gates when complete.
To increase MWBE participation at the LaGuardia Airport Redevelopment Program, and across the agency, the Port Authority and its Office of Diversity and Inclusion created a variety of capacity-building programs that prepared firms to be successful in navigating what can at times be complex airport-related procurements, the statement from the governor’s office says.
“An academy for principals at architecture and engineering firms, contractor coaching programs that train firms to apply for Port Authority contracts and construction mentoring programs that recruit, train and mentor MWBE firms to bid for large public construction projects sponsored hundreds of seminars, webinars and forums to help firms become MWBE certified and to build the skill sets needed to be successful in the field,” the news release says.
To become a certified MWBE with the Port Authority, or to check on your certification status, please visit here. Find vendor resources and for information regarding the certification process here and find business opportunities here.
