Conceding it “doesn’t look good” for the current proposal to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Governor Rendell says he intends to revisit the issue next year.

Governor Rendell has said he expects the current $12.8 billion bid for a long-term lease of the turnpike to expire by the end of the year, and there are strong indications that the proposal won’t get consideration in the legislature by then.

So the governor says he’ll look for new proposals next year — starting with the current bidder”

“Well, I think most likely, if this fails, since Abertis has spent a lot of money trying to get this done, we’ll let them take the first crack at it, and see where they come in. But that remains to be seen.”  read more »

The Rendell Administration and officials from Citi Infrastructure Investors and Abertis Infraestructuras SA have agreed to a 30-day extension on the joint Spanish/American consortium’s $12.8 billion bid to take over the operations of the Pennsylvania Turnpike for 75 years.

The consortium’s bid was set to expire this past Friday, but the two sides agreed last week on the extension so that lawmakers and the administration would have more time to consider the proposal to privatize the day-to-day management of the 356-mile mainline Turnpike and the 110-mile Northeast Extension.  read more »

One part of Citigroup was trying to save the state’s Turnpike Commission while another branch was bidding to take it over.

Turnpike officials say they’re certain the employees of Citigroup Global Market who have been advising them since early 2007 did not share financial data with Citi Infrastructure Investors, or CII, which is bidding to lease the toll agency.

The situation has prompted lawmakers, who are considering Gov. Ed Rendell’s turnpike lease proposal, to question Citigroup’s motives.  read more »

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