US Airports Seek Private Funding for Improvements

Decaying U.S airports are turning to private funds to pay for improvement projects, according to CNBC.

Most U.S. airports are either publicly owned and operated by a city, county, or in some cases a public authority, CNBC noted.

But as airports' infrastructure begins to age, officials are looking elsewhere to pay for needed improvements. The Airports Council International estimated the nation's airports will need $128 billion in infrastructure spending during the next five years.

New York state and the Port Authority partnered with Delta Air Lines and LaGuardia Gateway Partners to completely rebuild LaGuardia Airport in 2016. Now, LaGuardia Gateway Partners is helping fund an $8 billion overhaul, expected to be completed by 2022.

And New York's JFK Airport will spend $13 billion to fund improvements, including two new international terminals. About $12 billion will come from private funding.

An "automated people mover" planned for Los Angeles International Airport will be that airport's first public-private partnership project, CNBC noted.

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