Connecticut Port Authority secures extension of deadline for State Pier
The Connecticut Port Authority said Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with energy partners Ørsted and Eversource to extend a deadline for obtaining a federal permit for work on the $235.5 million construction project at State Pier in New London.
An amendment to a Harbor Development Agreement stated that if a Aug. 31 deadline was not met, the two sides would meet to revise the agreement by Sept. 15 to set an alternative construction schedule, cost estimate and/or funding plan. Terms of the agreement would have allowed Ørsted and Eversource to pull a portion of their funding for the project if the federal permit was not in place.
The port authority said talks have led to a new Oct. 15 deadline.
“We did not discuss any plans for an altered scope for the project, as the intent remains to build to full scope,” the authority said in a statement. “We remain hopeful that the federal permit will be issued in short order. If so, we will continue to work diligently with our partners and contractors to keep the project on budget."
State Pier is being transformed into an offshore wind hub which, for the short term, would provide space and heavy-lift capacity to accommodate the assembly of offshore wind turbines.
While it has obtained a state permit, the port authority awaits word on the federal permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a portion of the work.
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.
