IBERIA PARISH (NEW IBERIA) — Federal money is building a new hanger at the Iberia Parish airport to support expansion of an aviation company that will create jobs.
The hanger will house an expansion of Avaiation Exteriors which officials say will bring more than 200 jobs with it.
The $2 million in funding for the hangar is coming from the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which was signed by President Biden in 2021.
"When we did the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the idea is how do we help Louisiana kinda catch up to where it needs to be, and then to build an economy for the future," U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of the architects of the trillion-dollar bill, said.
"Reinvesting in the country;" that's what Cassidy said was his goal in Aug. 2021 when he introduced the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
"...and this is an example of that," said Sen. Cassidy.
On July 18, the Louisiana senator joined members of the Iberia Parish Council, and the Iberia Parish Airport Authority (IPAA) at airport to tour an existing hangar.
"Because of this funding," Cassidy said during his speech, "there will be $2 million invested in this airport, it will create hundreds of jobs, it will create a future for people to live in this parish, and not have to go to another parish or state."
The grant funding is being given to the IPAA by the Delta Regional Authority to construct the new hangar. The IIJA also promises to create more than 200 new, local jobs with training at South Louisiana Community College (SLCC) in New Iberia.
The new hangar is currently under construction and is projected to be complete sometime in 2027.
"Our cities can take care of themselves," said Cassidy. "It is our rural areas that sometimes have the hardest time, and they don't even have the local 'match' to put up, to pull down dollars of the state or federal government. So, the Delta Regional Authority can backfill that for a parish that is kinda getting off the map, and getting on its feet, and making progress...The Delta Regional Authority helps lift them off that map, and get 'em going.”
Iberia Parish Councilman Marcus Broussard said he's excited to see this development come to his district.
“Job creation is huge here; getting people to not only work here, but live here. This is the first step in that process. We know we got a great parish, we know we got a great community and we wanna get the people here because once we know they're here, we know they're not leaving."
For information on how to apply for one of these new jobs, click here.
