Villaraigosa talking to China about investing in L.A. projects

Los Angeles Times ^ | 1/19/12 | Ari Bloomekatz

[NormsRevenge]

Fearing a congressional stalemate over transportation funding, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is looking to the Chinese government as an option to possibly save his ambitious plan to build a dozen mass-transit projects in 10 years instead of 30.

Villaraigosa said Thursday that he met with executives from the China Investment Corp. in Beijing during his trip to Asia in December. The group was established in 2007 by the People's Republic of China, according to the corporation's website.

Officials with the mayor's office said the meeting was only preliminary and characterized it as "very cordial" and part of the larger trade mission of Villaraigosa's trip to Asia, which also included stops in South Korea and Japan.

David Yale, an official with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, was also at the meeting, which officials said was arranged to explore alternative investment opportunities.

Villaraigosa's plan to accelerate construction of projects funded by Measure R has gained some traction in Washington D.C., but he derided Congress in a conference call for lack of action and said it was necessary to explore other sources of funding.

"You have a Congress that's just been indifferent to cities," said Villaraigosa, speaking from Washington, where he is attending the winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Villaraigosa serves at the group's president.

Rob Puentes, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Villaraigosa's search for infrastructure funding outside U.S. borders is part of an emerging trend.

[RightGeek]

Didn’t any of Tony’s aids explain to him that the Chinese would like to be paid back.