Teams are beginning to form around a possible public-private partnership for the redevelopment of Newark Liberty International Airport’s Terminal B, sources familiar with the matter said.

Project teams include aviation industry stalwarts such as Ferrovial, Meridiam Infrastructure North America and Vantage Airport Group, sources said

These parties are beginning to engage in discussions regarding the project.

Vantage declined to comment, while Meridiam did not respond to a request for comment.

“In general, we see tremendous opportunity within the airport infrastructure sector as cities look to accommodate rising passenger traffic and travelers seek an improved experience,” a Ferrovial spokesperson told Infralogic while declining to comment on Newark specifically.

All three of the firms are involved in airport public-private partnerships with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns Newark Liberty.

Ferrovial is an equity investor and leading the development of John F. Kennedy International Airport’s New Terminal One. Meanwhile, Vantage Airport Group is the developer, operator and manager of JFK’s Terminal 6 and 7 project, with its owner, Investcorp Corsair, as the project’s lead financial sponsor. Vantage and Meridiam are co-investors in New York’s LaGuardia Terminal B.

Infrastructure investment funds have had held discussions, advocating for the use of a P3 for Terminal B, Infralogic reported in April 2024.

The Port Authority Board of Commissioners in October approved USD 35m in spending for planning work for a new terminal to replace the existing Terminal B facilities.

An element of the planning would include looking at financing options, “ranging from private financing by airlines/terminal operators, via Public-Private Partnerships or other alternatives,” according to the board resolution for the spending authorization.

Meanwhile, the Port Authority’s long-time aviation financing and bond advisor, Frasca & Associates, has said in documents seeking a financial advisory role in Broward County, Florida, that it is developing a financial model for Terminal B. Frasca advised the Port Authority on the financial model for Newark Liberty’s Terminal A, which was not done as a P3, as well as for LaGuardia’s Terminal B and helped evaluate proposals for the JFK Terminal 6 and 7 and New Terminal One P3s, according to the documents.

The Port Authority and Frasca did not respond to requests for comment.

Newark Liberty Terminal B’s proposed redevelopment is part of the Port Authority’s Vision Plan for the airport, put together by OCA Architects with Arup & SOM. The plan also would include the refurbishment of Terminal C, in which United Airlines is the primary tenant.

One source said that United Airlines was helping guide the project for Terminal B and Terminal C, in a manner similar to JetBlue’s involvement in JFK Airport’s Terminal 6 and 7 redevelopments. As leaseholder for Terminal 6, JetBlue chose the JFK Millennium Partners consortium to handle the redevelopment and management of the new terminal.

United Airlines did not respond to a request for comment.