Philadelphia secures funding for cargo expansion

US Federal Government funding will help Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) roll out its $1.2bn cargo expansion programme.

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding awards for fiscal year 2022 will see the City of Philadelphia Division of Aviation receive $30,721,947 for PHL. Part of this award will be spent on the programme.

PHL’s cargo expansion programme, which was announced in June, will see the airport increase its air cargo facility footprint by 136 acres and almost triple its cargo building square footage from 600,000 to 1.4m.

Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) said: “PHL’s vision for the use of these funds through a robust cargo expansion means new opportunities for individuals across our region.”

The cargo development programme will not only help PHL obtain a bigger portion of air cargo that comes into the Greater Philadelphia area, it could also have an annual economic impact of $870 million for the region and create as many as 6,000 permanent jobs and approximately 5,000 construction jobs annually over the course of the project.

The expansion relies on numerous enabling infrastructure projects to prepare the property for development. PHL has already invested $90m through airport revenue bonds and grants to enable the development of the site. These projects include an environmental assessment, a wetlands mitigation project, the construction of an aircraft parking apron and the relocation of Tinicum-Island Road, a one-mile stretch of road that currently bisects the property.

Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE) will also receive $763,000. This will be used to support capital development projects that improve the airfield infrastructure.