Chris Evans says the leadership fight will help strengthen the prime minister's authority in the public eye.

Key cabinet ministers are in the firing line after voting for Kevin Rudd in yesterday's leadership spill. Picture: Ray Strange Source: The Daily Telegraph

KEY cabinet ministers are in the firing line for "payback" after voting for Kevin Rudd in yesterday's leadership spill.

Assistant Treasurer and Sports Minister Mark Arbib has resigned from the Senate.

Senior government sources confirmed Robert McClelland is expected to be dumped from cabinet in a reshuffle to be announced by Julia Gillard before the end of the week.

But Immigration Minister Chris Bowen is expected to be spared.

The PM will now also be forced to find a replacement for another New South Wales ministerial vacancy created by the shock resignation of Mark Arbib.

Ms Gillard yesterday would not rule out demotions of key cabinet ministers who supported Kevin Rudd, claiming any changes would be based on merit.

Stephen Smith or Simon Crean are considered the likely candidates to replace Mr Rudd as foreign minister. However, Mr Bowen was also named as a potential promotion into the job, not only on merit but as a gesture of unity.

"The next big challenge for us is how we challenge this reshuffle," a senior source close to the PM's office said.

"You would have to think Robert has to go. She wanted to do it last time but wasn't allowed.

"The problem is, can you have any confidence in the PM's office to manage considering the disaster of the last reshuffle."

Mr Rudd yesterday prevailed on caucus not to punish his supporters.

"My final request of the leader is no retribution against my supporters," he said. "They are good Labor people, every one of them."

Trade Minister Craig Emerson will act in Mr Rudd's role until a decision about the reshuffle - and could himself be in line to take the job permanently.

A spokesman for Mr Smith, who was foreign minister under Mr Rudd said: 'This is entirely a matter for the prime minister."

Ms Gillard will continue with a divided inner sanctum with some of Mr Rudd's backers, such as Martin Ferguson, set to stay on.

Leader of the house Anthony Albanese's office confirmed he would remain in the chief parliamentary head-kicking role after Ms Gillard had refused to accept his resignation.

"I would hope Julia Gillard would want to see me continue in the cabinet," Mr Bowen said.

"But that would entirely be a matter for the prime minister of the day and I will serve in any cabinet capacity for either of them."

Mr Ferguson is considered a valuable asset to the government and said: "I will always serve the Labor Party."

It was unclear what will happen to Manufacturing Minister Kim Carr who was demoted in last December's botched reshuffle.

By retaining Ms Gillard as leader, the party avoided an exodus of ministers with Attorney-General Nicola Roxon and School Education Minister Peter Garrett declaring they would not serve as ministers if Mr Rudd was re-elected.

Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan may also have refused to serve Mr Rudd.

David Bradbury and former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon have been named as MPs from the NSW Right who could replace Mr Arbib and Mr McClelland.

Read the original post:
Payback time as PM culls Rudd's mates

Chris Evans says the leadership fight will help strengthen the prime minister's authority in the public eye.

Key cabinet ministers are in the firing line after voting for Kevin Rudd in yesterday's leadership spill. Picture: Ray Strange Source: The Daily Telegraph

KEY cabinet ministers are in the firing line for "payback" after voting for Kevin Rudd in yesterday's leadership spill.

Assistant Treasurer and Sports Minister Mark Arbib has resigned from the Senate.

Senior government sources confirmed Robert McClelland is expected to be dumped from cabinet in a reshuffle to be announced by Julia Gillard before the end of the week.

But Immigration Minister Chris Bowen is expected to be spared.

The PM will now also be forced to find a replacement for another New South Wales ministerial vacancy created by the shock resignation of Mark Arbib.

Ms Gillard yesterday would not rule out demotions of key cabinet ministers who supported Kevin Rudd, claiming any changes would be based on merit.

Stephen Smith or Simon Crean are considered the likely candidates to replace Mr Rudd as foreign minister. However, Mr Bowen was also named as a potential promotion into the job, not only on merit but as a gesture of unity.

"The next big challenge for us is how we challenge this reshuffle," a senior source close to the PM's office said.

"You would have to think Robert has to go. She wanted to do it last time but wasn't allowed.

"The problem is, can you have any confidence in the PM's office to manage considering the disaster of the last reshuffle."

Mr Rudd yesterday prevailed on caucus not to punish his supporters.

"My final request of the leader is no retribution against my supporters," he said. "They are good Labor people, every one of them."

Trade Minister Craig Emerson will act in Mr Rudd's role until a decision about the reshuffle - and could himself be in line to take the job permanently.

A spokesman for Mr Smith, who was foreign minister under Mr Rudd said: 'This is entirely a matter for the prime minister."

Ms Gillard will continue with a divided inner sanctum with some of Mr Rudd's backers, such as Martin Ferguson, set to stay on.

Leader of the house Anthony Albanese's office confirmed he would remain in the chief parliamentary head-kicking role after Ms Gillard had refused to accept his resignation.

"I would hope Julia Gillard would want to see me continue in the cabinet," Mr Bowen said.

"But that would entirely be a matter for the prime minister of the day and I will serve in any cabinet capacity for either of them."

Mr Ferguson is considered a valuable asset to the government and said: "I will always serve the Labor Party."

It was unclear what will happen to Manufacturing Minister Kim Carr who was demoted in last December's botched reshuffle.

By retaining Ms Gillard as leader, the party avoided an exodus of ministers with Attorney-General Nicola Roxon and School Education Minister Peter Garrett declaring they would not serve as ministers if Mr Rudd was re-elected.

Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan may also have refused to serve Mr Rudd.

David Bradbury and former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon have been named as MPs from the NSW Right who could replace Mr Arbib and Mr McClelland.

See more here:
IT'S KEVENGE TIME: Payback as PM plans to cull Rudd's mates

Former New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally has ruled herself out to replace Labor powerbroker Mark Arbib in the Senate.

Mr Arbib announced his shock resignation from Cabinet and Federal Parliament after yesterday's leadership spill.

This morning Labor's NSW state secretary Sam Dastyari said the process of seeking a replacement has already begun.

He said former ALP president Warren Mundine's name is in the mix, and a bid by Ms Keneally would also be welcome.

"At the moment, to be honest, we have a process to go through," Mr Dastyari said.

"I'd love to see Kristina and people of her quality being prepared to stand up and say they want to put their name forward for the Australian Senate.

"I think we're going to get half a dozen good names."

But Ms Keneally used Twitter to quickly quash any speculation.

"I've said many times that I'm not going federal. I'm not a candidate," she tweeted.

Mr Mundine will not say whether he has been approached, but admits there are plenty of internal discussions going on.

"There's a lot of media interest going on. At this stage I have no comments to make," Mr Mundine said.

"Yes, I acknowledge that there have been no Aboriginals in the Parliament, Federal Parliament, for the Labor Party, but I can see a period where that won't be too far off when that will happen."

Here is the original post:
Arbib replacement: Keneally rules out Senate tilt

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille resigned on Friday after just four months in office, plunging the country into political paralysis in the midst of rebuilding efforts two years after a devastating earthquake.

Conille submitted his resignation in a letter to President Michel Martelly, according to a statement by the president's office. There was no immediate word on a possible replacement, though Martelly announced he would address the nation on Friday evening.

Conille's decision to step down came amid political infighting between the two leaders over earthquake reconstruction contracts, as well as a parliamentary investigation into dual citizenship of government ministers, which is illegal under Haitian law.

Conille, a 45-year-old medical doctor and U.N. development expert, was popular with foreign aid donors and many members of the international community involved in Haiti's reconstruction efforts after a January 2010 earthquake shattered the country, killing more than 200,000 people.

He previously served as chief of staff of the U.N. Office of the Special Envoy to Haiti, led by former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

The U.S. Embassy in Haiti issued a statement calling for the "swift" appointment of a successor to ensure political stability, while expressing "regret" over Conille's departure.

Political tensions between Martelly and Conille recently erupted after Conille announced plans to audit $300 million in contracts awarded by his predecessor after the earthquake.

Conille and members of his Cabinet were also under pressure to cooperate with a parliamentary commission investigating the nationalities of members of the government.

Conille and some of his aides have held jobs and lived for extended periods outside Haiti.

Critics say Conille also alienated parliament and the president, including members of his own Cabinet, by some of his actions.

"It didn't work from Day One," said Alice Blanchet, a special adviser to five former prime ministers, including Conille's predecessor, Jean-Max Bellerive.

POLITICAL SHOWDOWN?

She described Conille's questioning of the earthquake reconstruction contracts as "petty and unpatriotic," noting that no irregularities had been identified by the international community. "That was offensive to parliament and to the president," she said.

The resignation could set the stage for another political showdown between Martelly, who took office in May 2011, and lawmakers in parliament, where he does not hold a majority.

Conille's appointment as prime minister in October only came after a five-month delay during which Martelly's first two nominees were rejected, impeding his ability to assemble a government to move ahead with reconstruction efforts.

"It's so frustrating. It reflects once again the willingness of political figures in Haiti to let policy differences reach the point of total polarization and stalemate," said Mark Schneider, vice president at the International Crisis Group, a Washington-based think tank that monitors Haiti closely.

"We are now embarked on another unknown journey of unknown length to try and find another prime minister," he added, noting how long it took Martelly last year to find a candidate acceptable to parliament.

"These things in Haiti are so destructive," he said. "For a country that is barely keeping it's head above water, this is like picking up another rock that pulls you further down to the bottom."

Two years after the quake, more than a half a million people are still living in tent camps in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and piles of concrete, steel and debris litter the streets.

During a recent visit to Haiti, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice publicly called on the country's political leaders to stop bickering.

"Haiti's executive and legislative branches," Rice said, "need to rise above their interests and work together in the spirit of compromise and overcome their common challenges."

Her words were echoed on Thursday by Mariano Fernandez, head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti.

Fernandez issued a statement expressing concern that "the political deadlock and institutional paralysis between the government, parliament and the president ... are not likely to create the necessary conditions for recovery of the economy and the consolidation of democracy."

(Additional reporting by David Adams in Miami; Writing by Kevin Gray; Editing by Todd Eastham and Stacey Joyce)

Read the original post:
Haiti's prime minister resigns after four months

By Freeman Klopott - Wed Feb 22 21:03:01 GMT 2012

New York (STONY1) Governor Andrew Cuomo said a construction team may be chosen in the next six months to build a $5.2 billion replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge and that he’s considering turning the old span over the Hudson River into a pedestrian greenway.

The pathway for pedestrians and cyclists would be similar to the Walkway Over the Hudson, a state park built on the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge that has drawn almost 500,000 visitors a year. Tearing down the bridge would cost $150 million, Cuomo said today at a Cabinet meeting in Albany.

In the last decade, New York has spent $88 million on studies and held more than 430 public meetings where it presented 150 proposals to replace the Tappan Zee, he said.

“Ten years worth of talking, and now in a matter of months so much progress has been made,” Cuomo, a 54-year-old Democrat, said. “This is a phenomenally rapid process.”

In December, the state applied for a $2 billion federal loan, and earlier this month it announced that four construction teams, including companies such as Fluor Corp. (FLR), Bechtel Group Inc., Skanska AB (SKAB) and Grupo Dragados SA (DRC), were in the running to win the project. President Barack Obama in October named building a new Tappan Zee as one of 14 U.S. projects to be sped through the federal oversight process.

Job Creation

Final proposals for the project, which would create more than 45,000 jobs, will be submitted in June and the winning group will be announced this summer, Cuomo said today. The state is using the so-called design-build process to speed the construction timeline, he said. Approved by lawmakers in December, the process puts private companies in charge of designing and building the project, rather than having the state develop the plan and then put it out for bid.

The three-mile-long (4.8-kilometer) Tappan Zee, which connects Rockland and Westchester counties as part of the New York State Thruway system, carries 138,000 vehicles a day, 40 percent more than its original design intended, according to the application for the $2 billion Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan.

New York’s project is one of 26 seeking a total of $13 billion in Tifia loans, the U.S. Transportation Department said in a statement e-mailed Feb. 15. The program has about $1.1 billion available, and New York is asking that its $2 billion be spread out over several years.

Mass Transit

The Tappan Zee design plan will immediately allow for a rapid-bus transit line and light rail, Cuomo said. Those commuter systems haven’t been built yet, and doing so could cost about $5.2 billion for the buses and $5 billion for the rail, he said.

“We’re actually building a bridge that’s ahead of the existing system,” Cuomo said. “I think it’s a prudent investment because it’s a smart idea, and if we can’t afford it now, we can down the road.”

The state hired Jeffrey A. Parker & Associates in December to help develop the funding plans for the new bridge. The federal loan would be secured by revenue collected statewide by the Thruway Authority, which totaled $660 million in 2011, including $130 million from the Tappan Zee, the loan application said. Other options include selling bonds-backed by tolls, and pension funds or other private investment, Cuomo said today.

“The main funding stream will be tolls,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Freeman Klopott in Albany, New York, at fklopott@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: William Glasgall at wglasgall@bloomberg.net

See the original post here:
Cuomo Says Tappan Zee Replacement Plan Moving at ‘Phenomenally Rapid’ Pace

BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun will withhold Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas’ resignation until Parliament passes a controversial decree governing the transportation allowance into law Wednesday.

Nahhas opted Tuesday to resign his post rather than surrender to Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s demand he sign the decree.

“I have received Minister Nahhas’ resignation and it is up to the Cabinet, and not to me, to deal with it,” Aoun told reporters after chairing a weekly meeting of his parliamentary Change and Reform bloc at his residence in Rabieh, north of Beirut. “Eventually, we will send the resignation to the Cabinet. From now on, the labor law and the wage hike will be organized as Nahhas wanted.”

Aoun said he has not yet decided on whether to accept Nahhas’ resignation, adding that he will send it to the Cabinet whenever he wants.“The decision to endorse [Nahhas’] resignation is still in my hands and when the resignation is sent to the Cabinet, it means we [the Change and Reform bloc] have accepted it,” he said.

In the meantime, sources at the Grand Serail said Mikati has not yet received Nahhas’ resignation letter and that the premiership was not concerned with his stepping down.

The sources said Parliament’s approval of the draft law presented by FPM MP Ibrahim Kanaan, which would authorize the Cabinet to set the transportation allowance, was linked to sending Nahhas’ resignation to the prime minister.

Sources close to the FPM said Tuesday night that Aoun insists he will send Nahhas’ resignation letter to the Cabinet only after Parliament has ratified a draft law on the transportation allowance.

Grand Serail sources said that meetings were ongoing to reach an agreement whereby Nahhas’ resignation would be sent to the premiership or the presidency in order to ask the acting Labor Minister Nicolas Fattoush later to sign the Cabinet decree and legitimize the transportation allowance through the draft law presented by Kanaan. They pointed out that if this did not happen, then the Cabinet would withdraw the draft law.

The sources did not rule out the possibility of implementing this agreement, which would lead to the resumption of Cabinet sessions and naming a replacement for Nahhas. A source said Aoun will name Greek Catholic lawyer Walid Azar for this post.

Sources close to Nahhas said that he was surprised by Aoun’s demands and the paper relayed to him by Baabda MP Alain Aoun.

The sources said that Nahhas was not aware of the understanding which the FPM leader said was reached between him and each of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Mikati ahead of Parliament’s session Wednesday on the approval of Kanaan’s draft law.

Parliamentary sources in Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc said that Alain Aoun failed in more than three hours to convince Nahhas to sign the Cabinet’s decision on the transportation allowance, preferring to sign his resignation letter and putting it at the disposal of the FPM leader.

Answering reporters’ questions, Aoun said that if the bloc approved Nahhas’ decision to resign, then his replacement would have to be from the FPM. He did not name the potential successor to Nahhas.

Aoun rejected the argument that the FPM did not back Nahhas in his attempts to legalize the transportation allowance decree. “We are still supporting Minister Nahhas. Of course, the new minister [replacing Nahhas] will be from the Free Patriotic Movement. Otherwise, we will return to the same Cabinet crisis,” Aoun said.

Nahhas’ resignation came on the eve of a crucial Parliament meeting which is expected to vote Wednesday on two draft laws – one prepared by Kanaan and another by Future Bloc MP Nabil de Freij – which would authorize the Cabinet to set transportation and education allowances.

Media reports said the two draft laws would be combined into one proposal to allow MPs from the March 8 and March 14 camps to ratify it during Wednesday’s legislative session, a move which would open the way to a resumption of Cabinet sessions stalled since Feb. 1.

Aoun said he had sought to reach “a legal solution” for the problem of the transportation allowance decree, which has been at the root of the Cabinet crisis since Nahhas refused to sign it, arguing that it was illegal.

“We supported Minister Nahhas in his decision to refuse to sign the decree because the Shura Council will send back illegal draft laws,” Aoun said.

He added that Wednesday’s Parliament session was a chance to make the Cabinet decision on the transportation allowance legal. He said he had reached agreement on this subject during his meeting with Berri last Friday and that a similar understanding was reached with Mikati.

“We agreed to continue the legal course if the draft law was challenged. We spoke with Nahhas, whom we thank for his services and cooperation with high efficiency. But his circumstances might not allow him to cooperate with us,” Aoun said.

Aoun has accused Mikati of violating the Constitution with the suspension of Cabinet sessions following a dispute with ministers from the Change and Reform bloc over appointments of Christians to key posts in the public administration. Aoun’s ministers rejected names proposed by Mikati to head the High Disciplinary Committee, a position traditionally reserved for Greek Catholics.

For his part, Mikati has defended his decision to suspend Cabinet meetings, saying the move was designed to protect state institutions.

Nahhas has been at the center of a political storm since last month, when he refused to sign a Cabinet decree officially approving a transportation allowance, arguing that it should be ratified by Parliament first.

Read more here:
Aoun exploits Nahhas resignation

World

February 21, 2012

by Felice Friedson, The Media Line

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Jan. 29. Photo by REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Rumors circulating inside the Palestinian Authority regarding possible replacements for Prime Minister Salam Fayyad are being discredited by at least one of those being named. Sources have been reporting that Munib Al-Masri and Dr. Mohammad Mustafa are under consideration to replace Fayyad instead of PA President Mahmoud Abbas taking on the additional role that some Hamas members are arguing would be illegal to do. Both rumored candidates are renowned leaders in Palestinian financial circles and would arguably placate Western governments that have looked to the US-educated, former World Bank official Fayyad to provide a level of comfort relative to the handling of large aid contributions from donor states.

But while a source close to Abbas told The Media Line that serious consideration of Al-Masri and Mustafa is underway, Mustafa himself denied there is room for anyone but Abbas. “Hamas and Fatah agreed in signing the Doha agreement that Abbas would take on the role of prime minister in addition to the presidency,” Mustafa said. “The parties have agreed that President Abbas will be the leader of the government. So no more candidates. The president is the person nominated to do the job. He has to be the president. There is no way for anyone else to do so under terms of the agreement.”

Mustafa said the focus now is not on selecting an alternative to Abbas as prime minister but on completing the process and getting the elections set as soon as possible.

The conflicting versions of events-to-be both exude reasonableness. With governments including the United States not comfortable about funding a unity government that includes Hamas, which is listed on the US State Department’s terror list, there is heightened sensitivity about caving in to Hamas’ demand that Fayyad be removed from the roster of ministers in the pending interim cabinet that is supposed to govern until elections can be held. One theory is that replacing Fayyad with men whose bona fides in Palestinian commerce are established will go far in preventing the replacement from being an issue. Underscoring that point, Al-Masri and Mustafa each have points of confluence with Prime Minister Fayyad in their educational and professional resumes.

A well-placed source speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to speak on the record told The Media Line that above all, “the requisite is being someone who can handle money and is a technocrat.” Al-Masri and Mustafa both fill the bill. Al-Masri, an octogenarian who created much of the Palestinian financial infrastructure including its stock exchange, leading holding company and largest telecommunications company, was twice asked by Yassir Arafat to be his replacement as president, a role he reportedly turned down a total of three times.

Al-Masri remains active and as a measure of the respect afforded to him, played a key role in early reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas. And like Fayyad, his American alma mater is the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Mustafa serves as Chairman and CEO of the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF) and is President Abbas’ economic adviser.  Like Fayyad, he spent more than a decade at the World Bank following his education in the United States. Mustafa’s Master’s degree and Ph.D. were awarded by George Washington University.

Asked about Israeli objections to the unity government, Mustafa told The Media Line that “the Israelis need to negotiate with their counterpart. And their counterpart as negotiators for the Palestinians is the PLO.” When asked whether he believes Congress will cut off aid, Mustafa replied that “some voices in Congress” are making that threat, but he doesn’t expect that line of thought to carry the day.

Sources inside the Palestinian Authority are characterizing the initiation of the interim body as “imminent.” Eyes are on Cairo where on Wednesday Abbas joins the Reconciliation Committee as it seeks to tidy up remaining details and perhaps establish a firm timetable for events. If that happens, Abbas’ appearance at an Arab League event in Doha on Thursday will take on the air of a victory lap by a man who insisted all he seeks is retirement.

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The rest is here:
Replacement rumors for Abbas as Prime Minister denied by ‘candidate’ Mustafa

February 15, 2012, 9:59 AM EST

By Freeman Klopott

(Updates with revised loan size in first paragraph.)

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- New York state has applied for a $2 billion federal loan for construction of a $5.2 billion replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson River, state officials said.

Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald said the state sent a letter of interest to the Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation, which administers a program that provides credit assistance for “regionally significant” infrastructure projects.

“They’re reviewing it now,” McDonald said in an interview today after leaving a Cabinet meeting with Governor Andrew Cuomo in Albany.

McDonald said during the interview that the loan request was for $3 billion, a figure later revised to $2 billion by her spokesman, Bill Reynolds.

“The commissioner misspoke,” he said in telephone interview.

Bloomberg News had asked Reynolds for a copy of the letter in a Feb. 6 e-mail. It wasn’t provided.

Replacing the 56-year-old bridge, which carries 138,000 vehicles a day between Rockland and Westchester counties as part of the New York State Thruway system, is a priority for Cuomo. In his $132.5 billion budget, the governor didn’t identify a specific funding source, though said the new bridge would be financed with public money. The 54-year-old Democrat has compared building a new Tappan Zee to the construction of the Erie Canal in the 19th century.

The three-mile-long (4.8-kilometer) bridge is estimated to cost $5.2 billion, with the price tag rising as high as $16 billion if public transportation projects are included. Loans through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, which McDonald said the state applied for in December, can be used only to pay for one-third of a project’s total estimated cost under current law. If New York is applying for the full amount, that would make the value of the project $6 billion.

Short List

Legislators in Washington are currently considering whether to increase the participation limit to about 49 percent of the total cost.

“We’re following what happens in Congress very closely,” McDonald said.

Fluor Corp., Bechtel Group Inc., Skanska AB and Grupo Dragados SA are part of four teams selected to bid on the project, the state said in a Feb. 7 statement.

State officials have mostly been mum on financing plans. At today’s cabinet meeting, Cuomo said only, “We’re working on a financial plan.”

New York’s Transportation Department hired Jeffrey A. Parker & Associates to develop a funding plan, according to a December announcement. The Philadelphia-based financing consultant specializes in public infrastructure projects and will help secure a federal loan, according to the firm’s website.

Tifia loans are generally used for projects costing more than $500 million, last about 35 years and have an interest rate tied to U.S. Treasuries. As of Feb. 10, Tifia’s interest rate was 3.14 percent.

Nancy Singer, a U.S. transportation department spokeswoman, said in an e-mail she couldn’t immediately comment.

--With assistance from Martin Z. Braun in New York and Carol Wolf in Washington. Editors: Mark Schoifet, William Glasgall

To contact the reporter on this story: Freeman Klopott in Albany, New York, at fklopott@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Tannenbaum at mtannen@bloomberg.net

See the original post:
New York Seeks $2 Billion Federal Loan for Tappan Zee Bridge

Enlarge image New York Seeks $3 Billion Federal Loan for New Tappan Zee

An aerial view of the Tappan Zee bridge is seen leading from Tarrytown, New York.

An aerial view of the Tappan Zee bridge is seen leading from Tarrytown, New York. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

New York (STONY1)state has applied for a $3 billion federal loan for construction of a $5.2 billion replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson River, Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald said.

McDonald said state officials sent a letter of interest to the Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation, which administers a program that provides credit assistance for “regionally significant” infrastructure projects.

“They’re reviewing it now,” McDonald said in an interview today after leaving a Cabinet meeting with Governor Andrew Cuomo in Albany. “The application was for $3 billion, and everything is fluid right now.”

Replacing the 56-year-old bridge, which carries 138,000 vehicles a day between Rockland and Westchester counties as part of the New York State Thruway system, is a top priority for Cuomo. In his $132.5 billion budget, the governor didn’t identify a specific funding source, though said the new bridge would be financed with public money. The 54-year-old Democrat has compared building a new Tappan Zee to the construction of the Erie Canal in the 19th century.

The three-mile-long (4.8-kilometer) bridge is estimated to cost $5.2 billion, with the price tag rising as high as $16 billion if public transportation projects are included. Loans through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, which McDonald said the state applied for in December, can be used only to pay for one-third of a project’s total estimated cost under current law. If New York is applying for the full amount, that would make the value of the project $9 billion.

Legislators in Washington are currently considering whether to increase the participation limit to about 49 percent of the total cost.

“We’re following what happens in Congress very closely,” McDonald said.

Fluor Corp. (FLR), Bechtel Group Inc., Skanska AB (SKAB) and Grupo Dragados SA (DRC) are part of four teams selected to bid on the project, the state said in a Feb. 7 statement.

State officials have mostly been mum on financing plans. At today’s cabinet meeting, Cuomo said only, “We’re working on a financial plan.”

New York’s Transportation Department hired Jeffrey A. Parker & Associates to develop a funding plan, according to a December announcement. The Philadelphia-based financing consultant specializes in public infrastructure projects and will help secure a federal loan, according to the firm’s website.

Tifia loans are generally used for projects costing more than $500 million, last about 35 years and have an interest rate tied to U.S. Treasuries. As of Feb. 10, Tifia’s interest rate was 3.14 percent.

Nancy Singer, a U.S. transportation department spokeswoman, said in an e-mail she couldn’t immediately comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Freeman Klopott in Albany, New York at fklopott@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Tannenbaum at mtannen@bloomberg.net

Read the rest here:
New York Seeks $3 Billion Federal Loan to Construct New Tappan Zee Bridge

February 14, 2012, 3:39 PM EST

By Freeman Klopott

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- New York state has applied for a $3 billion federal loan for construction of a $5.2 billion replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson River, Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald said.

McDonald said state officials sent a letter of interest to the Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation, which administers a program that provides credit assistance for “regionally significant” infrastructure projects.

“They’re reviewing it now,” McDonald said in an interview today after leaving a Cabinet meeting with Governor Andrew Cuomo in Albany. “The application was for $3 billion, and everything is fluid right now.”

Replacing the 56-year-old bridge, which carries 138,000 vehicles a day between Rockland and Westchester counties as part of the New York State Thruway system, is a top priority for Cuomo. In his $132.5 billion budget, the governor didn’t identify a specific funding source, though said the new bridge would be financed with public money. The 54-year-old Democrat has compared building a new Tappan Zee to the construction of the Erie Canal in the 19th century.

The three-mile-long (4.8-kilometer) bridge is estimated to cost $5.2 billion, with the price tag rising as high as $16 billion if public transportation projects are included. Loans through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, which McDonald said the state applied for in December, can be used only to pay for one-third of a project’s total estimated cost under current law. If New York is applying for the full amount, that would make the value of the project $9 billion.

Short List

Legislators in Washington are currently considering whether to increase the participation limit to about 49 percent of the total cost.

“We’re following what happens in Congress very closely,” McDonald said.

Fluor Corp., Bechtel Group Inc., Skanska AB and Grupo Dragados SA are part of four teams selected to bid on the project, the state said in a Feb. 7 statement.

State officials have mostly been mum on financing plans. At today’s cabinet meeting, Cuomo said only, “We’re working on a financial plan.”

New York’s Transportation Department hired Jeffrey A. Parker & Associates to develop a funding plan, according to a December announcement. The Philadelphia-based financing consultant specializes in public infrastructure projects and will help secure a federal loan, according to the firm’s website.

Tifia loans are generally used for projects costing more than $500 million, last about 35 years and have an interest rate tied to U.S. Treasuries. As of Feb. 10, Tifia’s interest rate was 3.14 percent.

Nancy Singer, a U.S. transportation department spokeswoman, said in an e-mail she couldn’t immediately comment.

--With assistance from Martin Z. Braun in New York and Carol Wolf in Washington. Editors: Mark Schoifet, William Glasgall

To contact the reporter on this story: Freeman Klopott in Albany, New York at fklopott@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Tannenbaum at mtannen@bloomberg.net

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New York Seeks $3 Billion Federal Loan for New Tappan Zee Bridge