To the shock of transportation planners around the country, Denver International Airport terminated the contractor team working on a $650-million terminal renovation. The termination also ended the airport’s $1.8 billion public-private partnership with Great Hall Partners (GHP), a consortium led by Ferrovial Airports, with partners Saunders/JLC Infrastructure. Documents were released showing that had GHP stayed on the job, the renovation would have cost more than $1 billion, which is $288 million more than the contract plus a $120 million contingency. The P3 contract, the largest in Denver history, would have extended for 34 years, including four years of construction and 30 years of operations, with GHP building and paying for all improvements and managing the terminal’s concessions after completion.

“This [contract termination] may launch a period of introspection among airport professionals,” said Orlando partner Robert Alfert, a Florida Bar Board Certified Attorney in Construction Law. “It opens up a Pandora’s box. You will see a lot of re-evaluation all over the country where airport P3s are concerned.” The airport says it plans to finish the project with traditional contracting methods and direct airport oversight, perhaps turning to firms already under contract to complete phase one next spring, and then use a procurement process for the remaining work.