"In the past three years, the number of corporate aircraft utilizing the Sugar Land Airport has steadily increased," Phillip Savko, the airport's aviation director, said in a press release. Demand increased significantly after Sept. 11, a further validation of the need for a terminal with special features for the corporate crowd.

The terminal design will include conference rooms, a pilots' lounge, additional on-site car-rental facilities, restaurant and data and communications center. Savko tells GlobeSt.com that the terminal will cost between $4.5 and $5 million. Airport revenue bonds will be floated to cover the cost.

Savko says airport overseers are in the process of selecting an architectural firm, a process he hopes will be wrapped up by the new year's start. By June or July 2003, the concept-and-design phase should be completed and then the city can go to market with the bond sale. The plan for now is to break ground in late 2003 or early 2004, with delivery slated for 2005.

According to Savko, corporate charters have gotten a boost from longer lines at the mainstream airports due to the heightened security measures. Sugar Land will follow the security rules, but is offering an alternative to the long lines for fliers of all categories. Savko stresses the airport's location along Texas 6 is just as convenient for passengers as Houston's other major airports.

Also at Sugar Land Airport, crews are working on a $20-million general aviation building designed with more than 90 T hangars for piston-engine planes. The project is about 2 1/2 years from finishing, says Savko.