Bechtel opens NYC office to capitalize on infrastructure opportunities

Dive Brief:

The country's largest engineering and construction company by revenue has opened an office in Manhattan to take advantage of the infrastructure project demand there.
The office at 140 Broadway is up and running with a handful of business development staffers and "will scale up based on business and customer needs," according to spokesperson Juliet Whitcombe. Bechtel's previous New York City office closed in 2009.
In a statement, Chairman and CEO Brendan Bechtel said the company is looking to partner with the city in its goal of "improving transportation, expanding digital technology and insuring access to safe, reliable infrastructure."

Dive Insight:

Reston, Virginia-based Bechtel has been involved with construction projects in New York City since 1946, including a Penn Station improvement project, a $3.2 billion Long Island Rail Road improvement in the 1990s and a $1.2 billion Manhattan to JFK Airport Air Train that opened in 2003. The new office represents the company's commitment to bidding on projects in the New York City area, in sectors ranging from rail and aviation to power and communications projects, according to Whitcombe.

The company, which hosted a launch of its new office last week with local customers and stakeholders, will leverage its experience working with complex megaprojects, she added.

The time is right to tap into Big Apple infrastructure jobs.

Last month, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo presented his fiscal year 2021 budget, which brings state investment in transportation infrastructure and other state-funded construction projects to $275 billion, the largest such plan in U.S. history.

The 2021 budget will help support New York City projects like the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's $51.5 billion capital plan, the $11 billion Gateway Tunnel replacement project connecting New York and New Jersey and the $13 billion John F. Kennedy International Airport modernization program.

Since last May, Bechtel's New York team has been led by Regional Manager Keith Sibley, who has managed many infrastructure projects in big cities in North American and Europe including a major subway extension in Toronto and a new 62 mile-long railway beneath London. He previously managed a large-scale expansion at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, and tunnel, bridge and rail projects in Boston.

With a 2018 revenue of $16.8 billion, Bechtel is the country's No. 1 contractor on ENR's Top 400 list.