WASHINGTON: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has reached a deal to end an $87 million payment dispute with a Canadian construction firm that helped build the One World Trade Center skyscraper in lower Manhattan. The deal, which was revealed Wednesday in court papers, calls for Port Authority officials to pay $12.3 million to Ontario-based Collavino Construction Co. The money will enable Collavino Construction officials to make final payments to subcontractors who were hired for the World Trade Center project.
A Collavino Construction subsidiary filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 17, 2014, as officials battled the Port Authority over expensive delays during construction of the 104-story project, which opened several weeks after the filing. Collavino Construction itself filed several months later.
In 2007, Port Authority officials hired Collavino Construction to handle concrete needs at the $3.9 billion site. The Port Authority owns the World Trade Center site and oversaw its construction. Collavino Construction, which was to be paid $352.57 million for the work, hired about 50 trade vendors and suppliers to help with the project, according to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.
But the project faced delays as contractors had trouble working on a complex concrete structure while structural steel work advanced. The trouble led to a two-year delay for Collavino Construction’s work. Collavino Construction officials pushed the Port Authority to pay $87 million, largely for failing to complete contract scope. Both sides agreed on the settlement after months of negotiation. The deal still needs approval from Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil.
