DIA Says Financial Impacts Of Growing Terminal Construction Delays Unknown
DENVER (CBS4) - Denver International Airport Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications says the airport does not know the potential financial impact yet of the latest delays in the expansion of the terminal, known as the Great Hall project.
CBS4 reported earlier this week that the construction delay, which was ten months as of February, has now nearly doubled to about 18 months, and could grow even more.
"We don't know the financial implications, if any to DEN," said Stacey Stegman.
According to a new construction schedule released this month and obtained by CBS4, The Great Hall project, which was supposed to be finished by 2021, will now take until at least 2023. The latest estimates now say the massive terminal renovation is at least 551 days behind schedule and delays could grow even more.
"The projected schedule represents the contractor's estimates but does not include the airport's review and analysis," said Stegman.
The renovation of the airport terminal by Great Hall Partners, started in 2018, was initially estimated to cost between $650 million to $770 million. However, the growing delays attributed to concerns over the strength of concrete in the terminal could add to those costs. In the latest construction report, Great Hall Partners suggests the delays could increase costs as GHP and Denver are now discussing "compensation events" related to the delays.
"Under the Development Agreement, between the City and GHP," said Stegman, "there are terms by which they may be entitled to compensation or delay. However the merits of the concrete issue have not yet been determined as we are waiting on results and analysis. GHP has not filed a claim."
Alana Watkins, a spokesperson for Great Hall Partners, declined to comment on the CBS4 reporting.
The massive renovation of the terminal is designed at modernizing the structure, creating more retail space and improving passenger and traffic flows.
The delays are blamed on "Unknown Structural Conditions" according to GHP, which relate to the strength of the airports 25-year-old concrete in the terminal. Initial testing during the construction process suggested concrete strength problems, which slowed construction. Concrete testing and review is ongoing, but until results are fully known some of the terminal construction has come to a halt.
Stegman told CBS4, "DEN and Great Hall Partners continue to work together to evaluate the preliminary schedule as well as all possible mitigation efforts. The impact cannot be fully known until the analysis from our experts is complete and the airport is able to review the results with Great Hall Partners. At that point, we will be able to determine any impacts to the overall project schedule and/or budget."
