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Issue: 1074 Date: 3/24/2011
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Mid-America, Another Chinese Hub?
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MASCOUTAH, Ill. - There appears to be a battle shaping up between groups trying to establish a Chinese air freight hub in the greater St. Louis Metropolitan Area. St. Clair County has given the go-ahead to nearly $2.24 million in improvements to a southwestern Illinois airport looking to become an international cargo hub for Chinese business.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports that the county's public building commission voted Tuesday to double Mid America St. Louis Airport's ramp area where aircraft are parked, refueled, loaded and unloaded.
Mid America Director Tim Cantwell says the upgrade will allow the site to have four 747 cargo planes on the ground at once. The commission wants to make the 12-year-old airport a major conduit to China for perishable Midwestern goods including beef and grain.
The Federal Aviation Administration will pay 95 percent of the improvements, or about $2.1 million. The remaining cost will be covered equally by the county and state.
For narly four years the St. Louis RCGA or Regional Chamber and Growth Association has been working with the Chinese government to make Lambert Airport the freight hub for the far east, but as yet the Chinese have not committed to closing the deal.
In late January, hundreds of Chinese government officials and businessmen fanned out around the country building trade links between U.S. and Chinese companies. The President of China visited Chicago and St. Louis a Chinese delegation from Shanghai met with Governor Nixon, Mayor Slay, County Executive Dooley and others to sign what was called a Memorandum of Understanding.
At the time, the mayor called it a major step toward greater trade between the U.S. and China using St. Louis as an air cargo hub. It was still not a done deal, but Mayor Slay said the officials of China's major air carriers we were expected back in town to talk about cargo flights using large planes and Lambert's little-used billion dollar runway for international air freight operations.
Last month, RCGA President Dick Fleming told KMOX he expects to see flights between China and St. Louis beginning this summer. |
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