BRIEF: Airport building new cargo center, ramps

July 26, 2007

Jul. 24--Growth continues at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport with the construction of a 40,000-square-foot cargo facility, new ramps and bigger planes to carry more passengers.

The slab is laid for the cargo facility, which will cost around $9.5 million and is being built by Roy Anderson Corp.

"It's going to be a state-of-the-art facility capable of accommodating perishable products as well as dry cargoes," said airport Executive Director Bruce Frallic.

The facility will be operated by Gulf Coast International Cargo and will create about a dozen jobs. Frallic said local businesses may also find new opportunities with the increased coming and going of cargo.

"The focus is going to be bringing perishable products from Latin America and distributing them northbound and consolidating cargo southbound returning to Latin America," he said.

The building is scheduled to be finished in late January.

Another $10 million to $12 million is being used to build ramps and taxiways on the opposite side of the airport, he said. This is part of a larger project which will total $43 million.

Delta and Northwest are planning for bigger passenger loads and will begin using larger aircraft in September for Gulfport-Biloxi service, he said.

To see more of The Sun Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sunherald.com. Copyright (c) 2007, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.