Department of Transportation

Privatization of Stewart International Airport: Monitoring of Capital Construction Projects

Stewart International Airport, which is located near Newburgh, was acquired by the Department of Transportation in 1982 and was operated by the Department with the assistance of contractors until April 1, 2000. At that time, as part of an airport privatization program sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department leased the airport to a private corporation for a period of 99 years. According to the lease, the Department was to complete nine capital-related projects that were ongoing at the time of the lease. The Department was also responsible for overseeing the construction of a new access road for the airport, a project that had been delayed by litigation initiated by civic and environmental groups opposed to the project.

We examined the status of the construction projects and found that three of the nine ongoing projects had been delayed and were not yet completed. We determined that the delay in completing one project will result in $500,000 in unnecessary State expenses, and the delay in completing another project could potentially result in the loss of as much as $3.4 million in Federal funds. We further determined that the viability of the access road project needed to be reassessed by the Department.

For a complete copy of Report 2003-S-38 click here.
For a copy of the 90-day response click here.
For a copy of the associated follow-up report click here.