Officials at the Gary/Chicago International Airport announced the closing of a $16.55 million bond sale Thursday for capital improvements including the construction of new hangars, renovations to the airport’s terminal and an expanded cargo and logistics center.
The bond sale ensures the airport remains competitive in the coming years, a release stated. The rate on the bond sale is 4.5%.
It’s being paired with local funds and grants to complete the projects, the release said.
“This sale will be immensely helpful to our future capital improvement strategy and positions us very well in the coming years in our continued effort to modernize our infrastructure,” said Dan Vicari, airport executive director.
“We’ve seen substantial growth of our general aviation and cargo services in the past few years, and we will continue to allocate our assets to support these sectors.”
The airport is still without commercial passenger service but has ramped up its focus on cargo. In 2020, UPS began cargo service operations and later signed a long-term lease.
Last year, the airport broke ground on the first phase of a $67 million cargo services infrastructure investment to boost its growing cargo business.
About 100 acres on the airfield’s north edge will be transformed into an air cargo complex. It will be able to accommodate 18 wide-body planes, such as the Airbus A300, a wide-body cargo jet with a maximum payload of over 120,000 pounds.
The airport gained state funding in 2023 for a new $9.8 million fuel pipeline to enable it to fuel planes directly.
The release said cargo operations have increased and the airport ranks third in Indiana for its freight volume.
The release said the bonds will be repaid from existing tax increment revenues created in the Airport Development Zone, ensuring there would be no new taxes levied to service the payments.
The bonds were rated by S&P Global Rating at BBB+ and were provided credit enhancement by bond insurer Assured Guaranty Inc. Mesirow Financial was the lead underwriter on the sale, with Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP serving as bond counsel.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
