The first phase of the project, which is expected to last 30 months and open in early 2010, will be located on 1,400 of the 4,000 acres. It will consist of a primary runway that is 8,400 by 150 feet, a crosswind runway that is 5,000 by 100 feet and a 105,000-sf terminal with seven gates. The project also consists of smaller buildings to house the control towers, fire stations and other uses, Panama City-Bay County International Airport Authority executive director Randy Curtis tells GlobeSt.com. "The airport will be constructed in five phases," Curtis says. "Subsequent phases will be started as demand dictates."

This will be the first airport built in the US since Sept. 11, 2001. It will replace an existing airport, built in 1948, that is constrained by residential and business development and North Bay. The new airport is being built on a "greenfield site" with room for current operations and future expansion to meet requirements over the next 50 years. "We feel the new airport will have a positive impact on the surrounding area," Curtis says. "The existing airport has quite a few operating restrictions."

Relocation of the airport also triggers the creation of the West Bay Preservation Area, a 41,000-acre conservation area designed to permanently protect West Bay, one of the most environmentally diverse ecosystems in the world. The preservation area will protect 44 miles of undeveloped shoreline and an additional 33 miles of creeks and tributaries.