Big question for Amazon’s two chosen cities: Will it pay off?

WASHINGTON: The awarding of Amazon’s second headquarters to two affluent localities has fanned intense speculation around a key question: For the winning cities, will the economic payoff prove to be worth the cost? 

Amazon’s decision will bring to Arlington, Virginia, and the Long Island City section of New York a combined 50,000 jobs and US$5bil (RM20.96bil) in investment over the next two decades. But the influx is sure to swell already-high home prices and apartment rents and could overwhelm public transportation systems. And the two areas combined are providing over US$2bil (RM8.39bil) in subsidies to one of the world’s richest companies – a bounty that many analysts say probably wasn’t necessary to sway Amazon.