Press Releases

The Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (BTR) broke ground today on construction of its Aviation Emergency/National Disaster Multiplex. The project has been in the planning stages for nearly a decade as funding sources were pursued. The 24,000 square foot facility will be constructed in the Airport’s Aviation Business Park on the north end of the airfield.

Retiring Airport Director Anthony Marino said, "The need for such a facility was made painfully clear after Katrina, and again with the recent flooding. The Airport has finally begun the project with today’s ground breaking.”

Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the fall of 2005, the Airport was the primary disaster relief staging area for the National Guard, FEMA, and other relief organizations. The Airport had to improvise by staging the organizations at multiple locations throughout the airfield. It became apparent that there was a need for a permanent, on-airport facility dedicated to disaster relief.

The benefits of this new facility include:

• Allow the airport to provide staging facilities and additional services without impinging on normal airport operations.
• Provide the functional emergency operations center and relief warehouse critical to saving lives.
• Offer a strategic location along the Gulf Coast halfway between Houston and Mobile to serve as a key disaster relief multiplex for a large region.
• The multiplex will support various emergency situations such as disaster relief, but it can also serve non-emergency needs such as personnel training for emergency response preparedness.
• The warehousing facilities will provide space to stockpile supplies during the buildup to a severe weather event, or on an extended basis.

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The facility will provide a wide range of uses for the region and be an anchor for the north end of the Aviation Business Park at the Baton Rouge Metro Airport.

It is one more development in the Airport’s ongoing Aviation Business Park expansion. A recent study revealed that he Baton Rouge Metro Airport has an annual economic impact of $1.l billion dollars and 4,500 jobs. The Airport is a major contributor to our area’s economy without being a tax burden to the city. The Airport is self-sustaining, generating its own revenues as it operates as an Enterprise Fund.

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Contact: Jim Caldwell

Air Service Development, Marketing & Public Relations Manager

Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport

jcaldwell@brgov.com

Phone 225-355-0333

Cell 225-931-9098