UPS explores potential $110M expansion at Anchorage airport

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – UPS Inc. is exploring a potential $110 million expansion that could include a new flight operations building and warehouse at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, officials said.

The potential expansion by the global package delivery company could span about 1.3 million square feet (120,770 square meters), KTVA-TV reported Monday.

The Atlanta-based company needs extra space to handle new jumbo jets it hopes to purchase, officials said.

UPS wants to buy 28 new versions of the Boeing 747 cargo jets as part of an effort to boost the company’s fleet by 49 airplanes, a spokesman said.

UPS is not the only company exploring expansion plans at the airport.

Alaska Cargo and Cold Storage hopes to build a cold storage and general warehouse covering 700,000 square feet (65,032 square meters) at a cost of $200 million, an official said.

There are five major construction projects planned for the airport, manager Jim Szczesniak said.

“This global economy, basically, is flowing through our airport, and we’re going to put in the infrastructure necessary to be able to tap into the global economy,” Szczesniak said.

The five projects equal $707 million in investments. They are expected to begin next year with completion projected in two to three years, he said.

The projects could add between 700 and 1,500 jobs at the airport, Szczesniak said.

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This story has been corrected based on a statement from UPS to show that plans at the airport are not final.

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Information from: KTVA-TV, http://www.ktva.com