Mississippi DOT Once Again Extends Deadline for P3 Toll Road Proposals

BRADENTON, Fla. - The Mississippi Department of Transportation has once again delayed the receipt of proposals for its first public-private partnership toll road project.

MDOT began the process more than a year ago to seek a concessionaire to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a new 12-mile toll road called the Airport Parkway to relieve congestion on local roads and create a direct connection between downtown Jackson and Jackson-Evers International Airport.

The state had expected to select a developer for its 50-year concession more than six months ago, illustrating how tough the economy is for the P3 industry.

"We have granted another extension," Brenda Znachko, deputy executive director and chief financial officer for the state road agency, said Monday in an e-mail. "Proposals are now due on Sept. 16."

No other details were available concerning the latest delay.

In late May, Znachko said MDOT worked with prospective developers and adjusted the schedule at their request.

At the time, Znachko said: "Certainly, the collapse of the financial markets has impacted our procurement schedule as businesses and developers reevaluate their appetite for risk."

After short-listing three qualified firms and consortiums last year, the department issued a request for proposals and responses originally were supposed to be submitted in January. Receipt of the proposals was then pushed back to June, and then the most recent due date was last month.

The three groups expected to bid on the Airport Parkway concession are: the Jackson Access Mobility Group, with main partners ACS Infrastructure Development Inc. and Dragados USA; the Airport Parkway P3 Group composed of Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte SA and Ferrovial-Agroman SA; and Global Via Infraestructuras SA.

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Transportation industry
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