BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — Hundreds of new jobs are coming to the North Central West Virginia Airport with the expansion of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries West Virginia Service Center.
Gov. Jim Justice joined company, state and local officials for the Wednesday afternoon announcement at the airport in Bridgeport.
Company officials said the initial phase of the $20 million project will include a new state of the art hangar that will include four lines of aircraft maintenance on the CRJ fleet. A second phase will include three lines of maintenance on the regional jets.
The project will create 300 new jobs at the MHIRJ facility that already has about 500 employees. Construction jobs are expected to total around 1,000.
“This is the summation of almost a decade worth of work,” MHIRJ Head of Service Network Anthony Hinton told the crowd gathered for the announcement. “This expansion truly cements MHIRJ’s commitment to the state and positions the airport as paramount to the regional aviation infrastructure.”
MHIRJ, which is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and the CRJ Series program from Bombardier, chose to stay in Bridgeport after it purchased Bombardier. Ismail Mokabel, senior vice president and head of aftermarket of MHIRJ Service Centers, said he first discovered the generosity, hospitality and ingenuity of West Virginians about a decade ago. He said it’s the right place to expand the company’s operations.
“This gives us state of the art infrastructure for our customers and of course our employees. It gives us a platform to grow and diversify,” Mokabel said. “We’re also anchoring ourself to diversifying the type of business we have in this facility.”
Mokabel said the design of the new buildings are designed to hold all of the way up to narrow body aircraft which will allow for diversification.
State Senator Mike Romano, a former Harrison County commissioner and airport board member, said many long hours were spent with first Bombardier and then MHIRJ on the plans for expansion. Romano said the biggest selling chip the local area had were the existing workers.
“Because you work hard and put in an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay and you do a tremendous job, the best in the world, repairing these and refurbishing these jet aircraft and you’ve been doing it for decades,” Romano said. “Without you, we never would have what we’re about to have here in West Virginia.”
Romano also credited Gov. Jim Justice for quickly responding to a request from local officials a few years ago when state resources were needed to complete the deal.
“No governor believed in this project more than you did,” Romano told Justice. “You helped us make things happen here. When we called action was taken.”
Justice told the crowd the decision to get involved as a no-brainer.
“When they came to me and said, ‘look at what we are proposing to do,’ how long did it take me to say I’m in? You know why? Because I’m a businessman,” Justice said.
“The CRJ fleet is the backbone of regional flying in the U.S. and we are proud to be the custodians of that,” Mokabel said.
Airport Director Rick Rock said the years of work on the project has finally paid off.
“Every time at the end of the day when we’re wondering if this was going to happen, it was always about the employees and advocating for the state of West Virginia and making sure we help diversify this economy and help keep West Virginia moving to a brighter future,” Rock said.
U.S. Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito praised the project in separate statements.
Manchin called it another round of fantastic news for the airport.
“Work to expand Mitsubishi’s hangars will begin soon and will create more than 300 new jobs in the process. I applaud everyone who has worked hard to ensure this process was completed quickly despite months of delay,” Manchin said.
Capito said the announcement means more jobs and more growth.
“Today marks another milestone in this strong partnership that will continue to drive economic growth and commercial investments for years to come,” she said.