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Puerto Rico’s Muñoz Marin Airport granted $1.5 million to rehabilitate a runway

By on July 31, 2019

An aerial view of Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (Screen capture of aeropuertosju.com)

FAA announces $478 million in Airport Improvement Program funding across the U.S.

SAN JUAN – U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will award $478 million in airport infrastructure grants, the fourth allotment of the total $3.18 billion in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding for airports across the United States.  

The FAA will award grants to 232 airports in 43 states, including American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico, which was awarded $1.5 million to rehabilitate a runway at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina

The other selected projects also include runway reconstruction and rehabilitation, construction of firefighting facilities, and the maintenance of taxiways, aprons, and terminals. The construction and equipment supported by these grants are to enhance safety and capacity “while promoting economic growth in the regions served by each airport,” according to the announcing release.

“This significant investment in airport improvements in Puerto Rico will fund construction and rehabilitation projects that will help maintain high levels of safety in U.S. aviation,” Chao said.

Airport infrastructure in the United States, with 3,332 airports and 5,000 paved runways, “supports our economic competitiveness and improves quality of life,” the FAA said, adding that according to its most recent economic analysis, U.S. civil aviation accounts for $1.6 trillion in economic activity and supports nearly 11 million jobs. 

Airports can receive a certain amount of AIP entitlement funding each year based on activity levels and project needs.  If their capital project needs exceed their available entitlement funds, the FAA can supplement their entitlements with discretionary funding, the release explains.

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