The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced today that a contractor has been selected to build and operate an on-airport construction support facility at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). This facility will dramatically reduce the impact of airport construction on neighboring communities by eliminating the need for thousands of truck trips through local streets, with substantial participation by minority- and women-owned business enterprises (M/WBE) and local business enterprises (LBE) through its subcontracts in the delivery of JFK construction.
The selected contractor is the Melville, N.Y.-based Modern Efficient Transport and Supply LLC (METS), an affiliate of Grace Industries LLC and a division under the Haugland Group LLC. METS will build and operate an on-airport construction support facility, including a concrete batch plant, material crushing, and marine barging transport facility. The concrete batch plant will utilize Port Authority-approved 100 percent local suppliers from the communities immediately surrounding JFK. It will supply all the concrete to support construction, including for the two largest terminals and all the roads, parking garages, and other infrastructure at JFK. In addition, METS has committed 100 percent of its trucking to Port Authority-certified MBE firms and has committed to local hiring and workforce development opportunities throughout the life of the contract. As an example, METS intends to hold a workforce development outreach fair to engage local workforce talent.
Development, management, and operation of the construction support facility is subject to the Port Authority’s subcontracting participation goals of 20 percent by minority-owned business enterprises, 10 percent by women-owned business enterprises, and 3 percent by service-disabled veteran-owned business (SDVBE) in all procurement, subcontract, and ancillary service opportunities with this contract. To meet those and other local participation goals, METS has forged partnerships with the intention to award meaningful work to M/WBE, SDVBE, and local entities, including but not limited to:
- Lashay’s Construction, a Port Authority-certified MBE – assists with concrete facility management and site maintenance.
- A&S Rebar, a Port Authority-certified MBE – rebar fabrication
- Perry Onah Enterprise Inc., a local Port Authority-certified MBE – site security
- William W. Professional Staffing LLC, a local Port Authority-certified MBE – staffing support for project controls team
- Jars of Delight, a local Port Authority-certified MBE – special events food services/catering
The construction support facility will perform multiple functions throughout the course of the $19 billion redevelopment program, including concrete production at an on-site batch plant, operation of a concrete crushing facility to recycle construction debris that will be repurposed for new construction, and a marine transport facility to move construction material to and from the airport via local waterways.
Environmental benefits of the facility will include:
- Reduced trucking activity in the surrounding communities;
- Reduced emissions and disbursal of dust and other particulates associated with the transportation of construction materials and construction debris;
- Efficient use of the airport’s water access for the transfer of bulk materials to and from the airport;
- Advances the Port Authority’s sustainability goals by encouraging responsible recycling of construction debris.
Under the contract, Modern Efficient Transport and Supply will provide a marine transport facility that uses water access to JFK at Bergen Basin at the western end of the airport property. It is anticipated that barges will carry bulk materials such as sand, aggregate, steel and other building materials to the airport and remove non-hazardous debris and soil from the construction sites on and near the airport, with the capacity to responsibly recycle up to 75 percent of certain categories of construction debris. The use of alternative fuels for marine equipment, if available, is also encouraged.
“Not only are we transforming JFK International into the kind of world-class global gateway that our region deserves, but we are doing it in a way that will create the least disruption to communities near the airport,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said. “Innovative strategies like the construction support facility at JFK Airport will eliminate thousands of truck trips from local streets every year, honoring our commitment to building a great airport that will benefit the community and the region.”
“This new construction support facility at JFK Airport helps us meet two key goals at the Port Authority by reducing the adverse impact from this transformational $19 billion construction project on the neighboring community and by advancing the Port Authority’s sustainability agenda at JFK,” said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton. “We are building a new and ever-more sustainable airport, and we are doing it in a sustainable way.”
Under the agreement, the Port Authority guarantees a minimum of 720,000 cubic yards of concrete sales throughout the term of the agreement. The facility is expected to open and be operational this summer.
“Authorizing a construction support facility at the JFK airport is a pragmatic approach to limiting the disruption the local community may experience,” said U.S. Rep. Gregory W. Meeks. “Additionally, this effort provides economic growth by providing job opportunities for New Yorkers. This is a prime example of why JFK is leading as the premier global gateway to the world.”
“As critical as Kennedy Airport is to our city, state, and region, we cannot lose sight of the fact that JFK calls Queens home. To that end, ensuring the airport is not only a good neighbor to the surrounding communities but also continues to draw from our neighborhoods in terms of local hiring and contracting opportunities will always be a top priority of my office,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “By building a construction support facility on airport grounds using 100 percent local suppliers, we are not only getting countless trucks off our community streets and reducing vehicle pollution, we are doing so while connecting area small businesses to the biggest economic engine in our borough. Thank you to the Port Authority for your continued commitment to Queens, its economy, and its families.”
Redeveloping JFK Airport in Lockstep with the Local Community
In 2018, the JFK Redevelopment Community Advisory Council was formed. It is co-chaired by U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and is composed of elected officials, community boards, business and nonprofit organizations, civic organizations, and clergy leaders from the targeted local communities of southeast Queens, southwest Queens, the Rockaways, and western portions of Nassau County.
Since its inception, the council has been working with the Port Authority to expand community outreach efforts and develop community-focused programs, ensuring that this ambitious project solicits ongoing feedback from local stakeholders and provides meaningful opportunities for local businesses, MWBEs, students, and job seekers. This includes programming to advance the Port Authority’s commitment to a 30 percent MWBE contracting goal in all categories of work and a special focus on opportunities for local businesses across all aspects of the JFK redevelopment program, including terminal projects, which will be built by union labor under a full project-labor agreement. Other community development initiatives prioritized by the council focus on job opportunities and workforce development programs for residents, small business outreach and development, and educational programming for local students.
Transforming JFK Into a World-Class Global Gateway
In January 2017, the JFK Vision Plan was announced to transform the airport into the world-class airport that New Yorkers deserve. The plan provides a strategic framework for the Port Authority and its partners to completely redevelop, modify and expand existing facilities and infrastructure. The $9.5 billion development of a state-of-the-art New Terminal One that will anchor the airport’s south side broke ground in September 2022. A new $4.2 billion Terminal 6 broke ground in February and will connect seamlessly to Terminal 5, creating an anchor terminal on the airport’s north side. The $1.5 billion expansion of Terminal 4, led by Delta Air Lines and JFK International Air Terminal, is now under construction and will be complete by the end of this year. Additionally, a $400 million modernization and expansion of Terminal 8, led by American Airlines, which operates the terminal, and British Airways, which relocated to Terminal 8 late last year, was substantially completed in November 2022.
All privately financed terminal projects, combined with the Port Authority’s roadway, parking and infrastructure projects, represent a $19 billion transformation of JFK and an extraordinary series of public-private partnerships. The Port Authority’s capital investment of $3.9 billion is leveraging private investment at a rate of nearly four to one when taking into account the full private investment of more than $15 billion that has been committed to the four terminal projects comprising the full JFK redevelopment program.
