Reconstruction bill tops $100bn

By STAFF REPORTERS and AGENCIES

The cost of cleaning up "Ground Zero" and rebuilding the World Trade Center may top $NZ100 billion.

New York officials say just clearing up the 1.2 million tonnes of rubble will cost $US7 billion and take up to a year.

The total pricetag is estimated at $US39 billion, which includes about $US8.2 billion for rebuilding, though exactly what should go on the site is the subject of strong debate.

Where once everything to do with the shattered towers was talked about in terms of heroism, controversy has now begun to seep in.

New York police have been forced to admit that some scrap metal may have been diverted to mob-controlled businesses rather than the dump, where investigators are examining the rubble for clues and DNA that could help identify victims.

And insurers are threatening not to pay out because crucial details of the centre's $US3.4 billion cover had not been determined when the terrorists attacked on September 11.

New Yorkers are also divided on whether to rebuild the towers or turn the area, at the heart of the financial district, into a memorial park for the victims of the suicide hijackings.

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani opposes rebuilding a carbon copy of the World Trade Center, instead suggesting that a memorial to the victims be the centrepiece of the reconstruction.

"It has to be a beautiful, inspirational memorial because we have now to accept the fact that it is going to be the burial ground for many, many people."

Nobody has been brought out alive since the day after the bombings; 309 bodies have been found in the rubble, 5641 people are missing.

New Zealanders and Australians came together at the Epiphany Church on East 22nd St to hold their own memorial service for the 22 missing Australians and the three Australians and two New Zealanders confirmed dead.

The suicide attacks were "the darkest hour of the new century", the New Zealand Ambassador to the United States, Jim Bolger, told the interfaith service.

Even as New Yorkers try to get back to normality, they are dealing with draconian new measures banning cars with single occupants from entering most of Manhattan between 6 am and noon on weekdays.

It is a step that until three weeks ago was unthinkable in a country so attached to the car. It compounded the feeling of some New Yorkers that they are living under something approaching martial law, although most seemed ready to accept it.

"I've been in New York my whole life and if I have to take subways and buses, I'll do it," said Harvey Smilowitz, a pharmaceutical salesman. "I think too many people drive in the city, anyway."

The mayor opted for the ban after traffic around Manhattan almost ground to a halt last week, in the worst case of gridlock the city has seen, sending tempers flaring and radiators boiling.

But underneath the pain and unaccustomed insecurity, there have been some welcome changes.

For instance, the once-loathed New York Police Department, mourning 23 officers missing in the rubble, has won new respect.

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Full coverage: Terror in America

Pictures: Day 1 | Day 2 | Brooklyn Bridge live webcam

Video

The fatal flights

Emergency telephone numbers:

United Airlines: 0168 1800 932 8555

American Airlines: 0168 1800 245 0999

NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade: 0800 872 111

US Embassy in Wellington (recorded info): 04 472 2068