JFK’s New Terminal One accentuates the appeal of the airport P3

Although the steam ran out of airport leases long ago in the US and all manner of attempts to kick-start that activity have failed, that is not the case with public-private partnership transactions ('P3s' as they are known).

There are numerous examples across the country, providing new or refurbished terminals, car parks, car rental buildings, people movers and other examples of infrastructure which probably would not have been built otherwise.

The most recent example is in New York, a city whose airports have been roundly criticised by politicians in the past.

A revised agreement has been concluded to build a new terminal by way of a P3 consortium, which will be the largest and most modern there, on the other side of the airport from another one already under way.

The full-scale leasing of airports may be out of fashion in the US but this example alone shows that the P3 project to build new infrastructure is not.