Cost overruns drop Miami airport credit rating

Cost overruns drop Miami airport credit rating Cost overruns of $1 billion for the multiyear expansion of Miami International Airport have led to a downgrading of the airport's rating.
   Moody's Investment Service downgraded the airport's bonds from A1 to A2 late last week, saying the overruns will cause airline costs to increase enough to potentially erode future traffic and revenue, according to a report in the Miami Herald. The A2 rating is the third highest for U.S. airports.
   Because of escalating costs for materials and labor, airport officials say the expansion work at the new North Terminal will likely cost $6.2 billion, $1 billion higher than the original working estimates. Miami-Dade County, which owns the airport, has scaled back some of the designs for the expansion, but because of developments like the rising cost of cement on world markets and the tight construction labor market in booming South Florida, costs for the massive project have continued to climb.
   The expansion will provide more space for American Airlines, by far the largest tenant at the airport, which says it needs to space to meet expected growth as a gateway between the U.S. and the Latin America/Caribbean market.