Deals

LAX preferred bidder moves toward final approval

Having emerged as the preferred bidder in late January, the LINXS consortium will now wait for the city council to approve its proposal for the $4.5bn people mover PPP.

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Less than a month since LINXS was chosen as the preferred bidder for the development of the Automated People Mover project at Los Angeles International Airport, the consortium has inked its first agreement with the airport’s governing authority allowing pre-construction activities to begin.

The Early Works Agreement is valued at up to $42 million and comes after the Los Angeles World Airports’ Board of Airport Commissioners approved the LINXS consortium as preferred bidder. The contract allows the consortium to proceed with hiring, soil testing, engineering and furthering the design of the APM.

The PPP procurement now moves to the city council, which will review plans in April and vote on its approval. LAWA said it will present a 30-year contract valued at $4.5 billion for the consortium to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the automated people mover, a project which includes an elevated 2.25 mile-guideway, six train stations, and a moving walkway.

“We were impressed by their ideas on mitigating traffic during construction, their commitment to hiring local workers, and their focus on sustainability throughout the project,” LAWA chief executive Deborah Flint said, referring to the consortium, which includes Fluor, Balfour Beatty, ACS Infrastructure Development and Hochtief.

According to LAWA, LINXS’ proposal had the highest technical score and the lowest cost proposal of the three teams that participated in the procurement process. The consortium has committed to using California native plants that are tolerant to drought for the landscaping component of the project; constructing a maintenance facility that will achieve at least LEED Silver certification; and using more solar power than required.

The people mover PPP is part of LAWA’s Landside Access Modernisation Program, which also includes a consolidated Rent-A-Car (CONRAC) facility, multiple intermodal transportation facilities, and a comprehensive network of roadway improvements. LAWA anticipates that the APM, which will connect the central terminal with the new car rental facility, will offer a maximum ridership capacity of 10,000 passengers per hour and up to 87.7 million passengers per year.

In 2017, LAX served more than 84.6 million passengers making it the fourth busiest airport in the world and the second busiest in the US.

According to a statement from ACS, the LINXS consortium expects to reach commercial close on the deal in April and financial close in June. The overall project is scheduled to complete construction in 2023.