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VP Biden, Gov. Cuomo Unveil $4B Construction Plan For LaGuardia Airport

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Vice President Joe Biden unveiled a $4 billion construction plan on Monday to begin turning Laguardia Airport into a single main terminal, according to a statement released by the governor. 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled a multi-billion renovation project on Laguardia Airport.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled a multi-billion renovation project on Laguardia Airport.

Photo Credit: Governor Andrew Cuomo Flickr

Biden had compared LaGuardia to something one might find “in a third world country" in 2014.

The airport will be transformed into a single, structurally unified main terminal with expanded transportation access, significantly increased taxiway space and best-in-class passenger amenities. Construction on the first half of the new unified terminal is expected to create 8,000 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs, the statement said. 

“New York had an aggressive, can-do approach to big infrastructure in the past – and today, we’re moving forward with that attitude once again,” Cuomo said in a statement. “We are transforming LaGuardia into a globally-renowned, 21st century airport that is worthy of the city and state of New York. It’s the perfect metaphor for what we can achieve with the ambition and optimism and energy that made this the Empire State in the first place."

Construction on the first half will begin upon final approval from the Board of Directors of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. That approval is expected in the first part of 2016; the majority of this first half of the project is expected to open to passengers in 2019, with full completion scheduled for approximately 18 months later, the governor said. 

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