Last month, KCI Partnership, a consortium led by AECOM, wrote to Kansas City Council members claiming that it can deliver a new terminal at Kansas City International Airport for more than US$1 billion cheaper than the Edgemoor-led consortium awarded the public-private partnership (P3) project in September 2017.

KCI Partnership submitted the only other final bid for the design, construction and financing of the terminal. Its updated financial proposal claims significantly lower annual debt payments than the Edgemoor team proposed, yielding the enormous price difference.

The letter was passed on to Southwest Airlines, the lead carrier in negotiating a use and lease agreement with the City Council for the new terminal. Southwest Airlines has now stated that it plans to continue negotiations with the Edgemoor team.

Also last month, the Airport Committee of Kansas City Council heard that the use and lease agreement would be signed within weeks, paving the way for the signing of the Final Development Agreement for the project. The latter must be signed before the Edgemoor team can break ground, which was scheduled for the first quarter of this year.