Airport Board Approves More Space for Cargo Jets
By Theodore Kim, The Indianapolis Star
Apr. 15–The public board that oversees Indianapolis International Airport approved a plan Friday to add space for more cargo jets next to the airport’s FedEx facility, according to preliminary blueprints reviewed by The Indianapolis Star.
That approval came as FedEx put off an event at which it was expected to announce an airport expansion plan. The deal was still being hashed out as of Friday, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
When the announcement might be made could not be determined.
Bids for the loading-space expansion are expected to be released soon, with construction beginning in perhaps a month or two, airport officials said.
The plan calls for the construction of about a football field’s worth of space next to FedEx’s jet-loading area, according to the blueprints. The addition is just southwest of FedEx’s present facility, between the airport’s southern runway and I-70.
The Star reported earlier this week that FedEx planned to announce a significant airport expansion as soon as Friday. In addition to the added loading space, the company is aiming to construct a new building on its 300-acre complex, according to people with knowledge of the endeavor.
The full scope of the expansion and how much it might cost are unclear.
Despite the board’s action, FedEx and airport officials remained tight-lipped Friday, declining to comment on the expansion plans.
Jim McCluskey, a spokesman for the Memphis, Tenn.-based express-delivery company, said: “There’s nothing I can confirm. There are no announcements scheduled for today.”
Likewise, Airport Director Patrick F. Dooley would neither confirm nor deny the expansion Friday. However, he noted that state and local officials, in conjunction with the airport, have long sought to accommodate FedEx in Indianapolis.
For instance, in late 2004, state transportation officials finished a $170 million overhaul of I-70. That project was intended, in part, to create more room for FedEx.
“We moved a highway and have taken other steps so that we could ensure the future growth of FedEx and other carriers,” Dooley said. “I am optimistic that they will expand.”
At an airport board meeting early Friday, Dooley announced that an “event” planned for Friday had been postponed. He declined to elaborate.
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