The Massachusetts Port Authority is planning to issue more than $1 billion in new debt over the coming years as it embarks on a series of projects designed to accommodate more passenger flights, larger cruise ships, and larger container vessels in Boston.
Speaking this week to a conference of investors who could buy some of the agency’s debt, acting MassPort CEO John Pranckevicius touted some of the projects planned for Logan International Airport, Conley Container Terminal in South Boston, and the Ray Flynn Cruiseport as boons to the local economy and products of the economy’s recent success.
At Logan, a roughly $750 million project will include an expansion of the international terminal and the reconfiguration of other terminals and gates, and a $250 million project seeks to redesign the roadways that service the busiest terminals.
«We have a workforce that has a tendency to do a lot of travel,» Pranckevicius said, also pointing out the state’s low unemployment rate and high income levels. «That economic stimulus generated from the policies here in Massachusetts are driving a lot of the airlines to add more service.»
The expansions come while Logan prepares for some of its largest carriers – JetBlue, Delta, Southwest, and United – to increase the number of their daily flights to or from Boston.
Pranckevicious said Logan is on pace to serve 40.8 million passengers in 2018. In the next seven to 10 years, he said, Logan’s annual passenger count is expected to jump to 50 million.
«We have a robust economy driving strong demand for air travel to and from Boston and from that demand, our airline business partners are seeing strong returns on their investments at Boston,» Dan Gallagher, MassPort’s director of aviation business and finance, said.
Source: The Hull Times