LAX’s long-delayed people mover is now more than 99% complete, but new financial concerns and a growing dispute between airport officials and the project’s contractor are raising questions about whether the train can meet its latest deadlines.
Fitch Ratings recently placed the credit rating of $1.2 billion in senior bonds tied to the Automated People Mover, dubbed Skylink, on negative watch, according to the Los Angeles Times. The agency also reportedly downgraded the bonds from BB+ to BB, pushing them further into junk territory.
The move comes as the $3.3 billion project approaches two critical deadlines: an Oct. 8 lenders’ deadline and a Dec. 8 project deadline.
Fitch warned that additional delays leave the project with little room before those deadlines are breached. In a worst-case scenario, lenders could demand repayment and the contract between Los Angeles World Airports and LAX Integrated Express Solutions, or LINXS, could ultimately be terminated…