NY needs US$54b to recover fom attack

Phil Chetwynd, Agence France Presse, New York

New York Tuesday appealed for up to US$54 billion of government funds to rebuild downtown Manhattan and revitalize the city's faltering economy following the World Trade Center terrorist attack.

New York state Governor George Pataki said the cost of removing 1.2 million tons of debris, rebuilding on the WTC site and repairing damaged infrastructure such as collapsed subway lines would be around $34 billion.

Pataki said President George W. Bush had already approved 100 percent reimbursement of these costs which include $15 billion for emergency response and $19 billion for redevelopment and rebuilding.

He said the estimate had been drawn up by the state and city governments in conjunction with business leaders and labor groups.

Among the costs are $8.4 billion for rebuilding the World Trade Center complex, $5.0 billion for emergency construction and demolition, and $950 million to repair damage caused to the underground train tunnels.

The US Congress approved a $20 billion package to help with the rebuilding immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist onslaught that brought the twin 110-storey towers of the World Trade Center crashing to the ground.

Unveiling a plan entitled "Rebuild New York, Rebuild America", Pataki said the city and state governments would be urging Bush to set aside an additional $20 billion for New York from the $60- to-$75-billion stimulus package for the economy he announced last week.

"We need a specific New York component to that economic stimulus package, and we have quantified that component at around $20 billion," he said.

Pataki said help was needed in four key areas: aiding small businesses devastated by the attack, boosting unemployment and health benefits, creating new transport infrastructure and paying for increased security.