Harnett Regional Jetport Awarded $500,000 Grant

ERWIN, N.C. — The Harnett Regional Jetport has received a $500,000 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation to help fund an expansion project expected to attract private investment and create new jobs at the airport.

The funding was approved June 4 by the Golden LEAF Board of Directors as part of more than $6 million awarded statewide for economic development, workforce training and agricultural initiatives.

The grant will be used to construct an access road that will open eight new hangar sites at the jetport. According to Golden LEAF officials, the project is expected to support approximately $11 million in private investment and create 10 aircraft maintenance jobs.

The jetport, located near Erwin, serves corporate, business and recreational aviation users throughout Harnett County and the surrounding region. Airport officials have been working to expand facilities as demand for aviation services continues to grow.

The Harnett County project was one of three initiatives funded through Golden LEAF’s Open Grants Program during the board’s June meeting. A total of $1.06 million was awarded through the program for projects in Harnett, Martin and Buncombe counties.

The Harnett Regional Jetport grant represented the largest award approved through the Open Grants Program during Thursday’s meeting.

Since its creation in 1999, the Golden LEAF Foundation has awarded funding to projects aimed at strengthening economic opportunity in North Carolina’s rural, tobacco-dependent and economically distressed communities. The organization has funded more than 2,390 projects totaling approximately $1.5 billion statewide.