Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell says 33 companies have submitted qualifications in hopes of bidding on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, should the governor choose to pursue a long-term lease.

The list, released on the governor’s Web site, contains some familiar names like Macquarie of Australia and Cintra of Spain – who combined to lease the Indiana Toll Road in 2006 and the Chicago Skyway in 2005 – not to mention several U.S. financial giants like Goldman, Sachs & Co.

The list differs from a request the governor made in December 2006 for “expressions of interest” about whether the Turnpike should be leased, spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick told Land Line.

“In December, the governor issued a call for expressions of interest from firms who could advise the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on doing a possible lease transaction for the Pennsylvania Turnpike,” Kirkpatrick said. “Forty-eight firms responded and Morgan Stanley was selected as the Commonwealth’s adviser.”

The new list, he said, shows who is interested putting together bids for the Turnpike.

Rendell has continually said the state must raise an additional $965 million per year over the next 20 years to keep up with transportation demands. One way to do it is the controversial method of leasing or selling infrastructure to private investors.

Rendell has held a Turnpike lease card as his ace in the hole in case plans to toll Interstate 80 get scuttled. A number of state and federal lawmakers are working to stop that tolling effort.

OOIDA does not favor a tolled I-80 or a Turnpike lease. The Association favors responsible transportation spending through fuel taxes as they were intended.

The following companies have submitted their qualifications with an interest in bidding on the Turnpike:

• Abertis Infraestructuras, Barcelona, Spain
• ACS Infrastructure Development Group, Bangalore, India
• AIG Financial Products Corp., Wilton, CT
• Babcock & Brown, Sydney, Australia
• Borealis Infrastructure Management Inc., Toronto, Canada
• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Toronto, Canada
• Cintra Concessiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A., Madrid, Spain
• Citi Infrastructure Investors, New York
• Colonial First State Global Asset Management, Sydney, Australia
• Global Via Infrastructuras S.A., Madrid, Spain
• Goldman, Sachs & Co., New York
• HH Capital Advisors, North Hampton, NH
• Industry Funds Management, Wollongong, Australia
• Isolux Corsán, Madrid, Spain
• JE Jacobs, Pasadena, CA
• John Hancock Financial Services, Boston
• JP Morgan Investment Management Inc., New York
• Macquarie Infrastructure Partners Inc., Sydney, Australia
• Merrill Lynch, New York
• North American Strategic Infrastructure Partners LLC., headquarters not available
• OHL Concesiones S.L., Madrid, Spain
• OHL Infrastructure Inc., Madrid, Spain
• OHL S.A., Madrid, Spain
• Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, Toronto, Canada
• PA Turnpike Employees and Partners LLC., Harrisburg, PA
• POPT L.L.C., headquarters not available
• RREEF, subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, New York
• Santander Capital Riesgo Global, Madrid, Spain
• The Herrick Company Inc., Cedar Knolls, N.J
• Transfield Services, North Sydney, Australia
• Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund, North Sydney, Australia
• Transurban USA Inc., subsidiary of Australian firm
• UBS Investment Bank Infrastructure Fund, Zurich, Switzerland
• VMS Inc., Richmond, VA

– By David Tanner, staff writer
david_tanner@landlinemag.com