CHICAGO, 2012-07-23 — /travelprnews.com/ — Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) Commissioner Rosemarie S. Andolino on Wednesday gave a presentation on the new Chicago O’Hare International Airport Northeast Cargo Center at the monthly dinner/meeting of the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA).
Andolino provided an overview of the nearly $200 million project, construction for which will begin this year. The 820,000-square-foot cargo facility will be able to handle as many as 15 of the newest generation of 747-800 freighters and will create 1,200 construction jobs, 1,200 on-site permanent jobs and 10,000 related jobs in the region. The project has the potential to double the cargo volume capacity at O’Hare, Andolino said. O’Hare is currently the sixth-largest cargo hub in the U.S., handling 1.5 million tons of freight last year.
The developer of the project, Aero Chicago, LLC, has committed to the City’s Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Women Business Enterprise (WBE) goals for design and construction of 25 percent and 5 percent. Andolino introduced Erin Gruver, Executive Vice President, Acquisitions and Development, for Aeroterm LLC, who gave more details on the project to the audience.
Andolino also provided an update on the O’Hare Modernization Program (OMP), which is transforming O’Hare’s airfield into a modern configuration of six east-west parallel runways and two crosswind, intersecting runways. The next new runway to be completed under the OMP, Runway 10C/28C, is expected to be commissioned in October 2013 and will be the airport’s first Group VI category runway, built to handle the newest and largest generation of aircraft. Runway 10C will complement the cargo project by being able to accommodate larger aircraft.
Andolino was followed by two additional speakers, Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein, and Chicago Housing Authority Chief Executive Officer Charles Woodyard, who also spoke on construction projects and contracting opportunities.
HACIA is a 33-year-old advocacy group that provides technical assistance to
MBE, WBE and DBE firms. HACIA represents more than 300 companies including professional service firms and construction-related businesses. HACIA members collectively employ about 7,000 workers with an annual economic impact of more than $400 million. Currently, 42 HACIA companies are working on Chicago airport projects and services.
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