A construction project that will enable the Eastern Iowa Airport to expand its cargo operation is underway.
UPS will be moving into the new building. The 40,000-square-foot cargo facility is going up at a cost of $10.2 million.
Shipping giant UPS already leases space at the airport, but it has signed a ten-year deal to occupy much of the new building.
Airport director Marty Lenss says the move will give the passenger terminal room to grow, as well.
“We can expand the terminal more to the west by relocating UPS," he says. "And UPS can also grow unfettered for the foreseeable future, so it’s really a fantastic project for the airport and for the broader region."
Lenss says the cost of construction will come from airport-user fees.
“We’re doing that without local taxpayer dollars," he says. "The airport is completely self-sufficient. These are user-fee dollars we generate at the airport that get reinvested in infrastructure.”
Lenss says cargo traffic is becoming an increasing part of the Eastern Iowa Airport operation. The number of metric tons passing through has increased more than 24 percent in the last five years.
It’s expected the building will be ready to occupy by Spring of 2021.