MIA VICC broll video and photos here
Today, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and County Commissioner Raquel Regalado, District 7, announced that the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners had approved a minimum of $400 million in private investment to construct a four-story cargo facility at Miami International Airport that will be the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere and, when completed, will increase the airport’s total cargo capacity by at least 50% or potentially up to two million tons annually. Scheduled for completion in 2029, the new facility will bring MIA’s total capacity to a minimum of 4.5 million tons of cargo and potentially 5 million tons, future-proofing America’s busiest international freight airport until the year 2041 and 11 years ahead of projections. Without this construction, MIA would begin to reach capacity at three million tons of cargo annually. The airport is on pace for more than 2.9 million tons of cargo this year.
The future Vertically Integrated Cargo Community (VICC) at MIA, a nearly 800,000-square-foot facility on 11 acres of airport land, will have a massive local economic impact as well: 8,500 new temporary jobs earning a total of $500 million in wages during five years of design and construction; 2,500 new permanent jobs earning $100 million post-construction; and a minimum of $512 million in rent and business revenue to Miami-Dade County’s Aviation Department over the 40 years of the agreement. Without the VICC, MIA would begin to reach capacity at three million tons of cargo annually. The airport is on pace for 2.9 million tons of cargo in 2024.
The Board of County Commissioners approved a lease agreement with a private developer that will require at least 60% of the design and construction firms to be headquartered in Miami-Dade County, and for those firms to hire registered small businesses during all project phases.
In addition to its enormous impact on job creation and local business revenue, the VICC will be a sustainable, environmentally friendly facility with a silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification and a silver certification from Global Infrastructure Basel under SuRe standards for sustainability and resiliency.