New York’s governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that planning is to resume for a US$3.9bn (£2.8bn) new terminal at John F Kennedy (JFK) International Airport after the pandemic had halted the project.

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has reached a revised agreement on key terms with JFK Millennium Partners to build the new Terminal 6 that will anchor the north side of the airport.

The new post-Covid deal anticipates groundbreaking for the project next year, with the first new going live in 2025.

The project was initially supposed to break ground in 2020 but the level of private investment had been threatened by the impact of the Covid-19 on air travel and future projections for the industry.

Subject to board approval this week, the Port Authority will finalise and enter into a lease agreement with JMP for the construction of the 1.2 million square foot new terminal.

The full US$3.9bn expense of building the terminal will be privately financed by the JFK Millennium Partners consortium. It will be built on the sites of the former Terminal 6, which was demolished in 2011, and the ageing Terminal 7, which will be torn down after British Airways relocates to Terminal 8.

"The transformation of JFK Airport into a world-class gateway is another distinct testament to New York's comeback and to our determination to build back better," said Cuomo.

The new terminal will connect to Terminal 5 and be equipped with capacity for ten new gates. There will be more than 100,000 square feet of commercial dining and retail amenities, lounges and recreational spaces.