Kosta Diamantis, deputy secretary for the Office of Policy and Management, addressed the Connecticut Port Authority this week and fielded questions about the possibility of costs escalating for the $157 million project, which is being funded through a partnership by the state and joint venture partners Eversource and Ørsted. OPM was tasked by Lamont with financial oversight of the port authority in 2019, a tumultuous year for the quasi-public agency that included the resignation of its former executive director, a financial audit that revealed questionable accounting and spending habits and legislative hearings. The original estimate for the project was $93 million but by the time a deal was signed, the cost had risen because of alterations made to the design to better accommodate Cross Sound Ferry’s concerns about interference in its waterfront operations. Ørsted and Eversource have committed $77.5 million and the state and port authority the remainder. Plans for State Pier to become a staging area for the offshore wind industry involve an expansion to allow the pier to handle larger vessels and heavy-lift cargo.
https://www.theday.com/local-news/20210122/connecticut-port-authority-working-to-bring-state-pier-project-on-budget