Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) has been awarded $9.2m in federal funding for the next phase of a new cargo facility and aircraft parking apron at TF Green International Airport, about five miles south of the state capital, Providence.
The grant will be administered through the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program and will be used for the fourth phase of the South Cargo Project to construct 5,800 sq yds (4,850sq m) of new cargo apron. The completed scheme will add 60,000 sq yds (50,168 sq m) of new cargo apron space.
The South Cargo project will relocate cargo operations from the 80-year-old airport hangar on the north side of the runways to the other side of the airfield and, said RIAC, will improve handling as well as providing aircraft parking adjacent to the cargo building.
Under FAA guidelines, Airport Improvement Program awards may cover up to 90% of the cost of projects, with the rest coming from state or local funds.
RIAC is a quasi-public corporation for Rhode Island Airports including TF Green Airport. The federal funds are being made available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed into law by President Biden in November 2021 and which is expected to direct about $45m to the state’s airports over five years.
Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, in announcing the funding, said: “TF Green International is already one of the most convenient airports in the country for travellers, and we want to make it more commerce-friendly as well. This federal funding will support an expansion of the cargo facility and increased economic activity in Rhode Island.”
Senator Reed, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, added: “Our airports are engines of economic growth. I’m pleased to work with my colleagues to help land this grant for RIAC to improve and expand TF Green Airport’s cargo operations to better serve tenants and drive Rhode Island’s economy forward.”
Last week, the first U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) air cargo centralised examination station (CES) with direct access to an Airport Air Operations Area (AOA) was opened.
First US airside centralised examination station for cargo opens
