Mitsubishi tours airport hangar

MOSES LAKE - The Port of Moses Lake hosted executives from Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation and members of the Japanese media for a tour of Grant County International Airport and the new hangar under construction.

The 65,000 square foot hangar, being built by AeroTEC, will house the 70-seat Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ-70) while it goes through flight testing and certification procedures.

Construction on the hangar is "expected to be done some time this fall," Port of Moses Lake Executive Director Jeff Bishop said.

"They're putting the finishing touches on it right now," added Bishop, who expects the planes to begin arriving "sometime around the spring."

Bishop discussed how a business relationship with a corporation the size of Mitsubishi would impact the Moses Lake economy. In addition to the engineering and technical jobs this partnership creates, there will be an increased need for support services like food and housing, along with the future prospects a deal like this can lead to.

"This gets us more of an international presence," Bishop said. "Now, we're a household name because of this particular project."

According to Bishop, there have been discussions about the possibility of carrier service returning to Moses Lake.

"We've had dialogue with carriers as a result of Mitsubishi's presence," he said. "We're hopeful that will result in a carrier resuming operations here."

The tour showcased the size of GCIA and the length of the runways. Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation President Hirofumi Takahashi liked what he saw.

"Moses Lake has a very long runway. That is very good for flight testing," he said.

Bishop is optimistic this tour will help foster a long business relationship with Mitsubishi. There will be three models of this particular plane, and Bishop suspects Mitsubishi will test all three of those versions here in Moses Lake.

"Getting the certifications is very big," Takahashi said. "Having the environment and facility to support the flight testing is very important. The facility is very nice; airport has been supportive. The people are very kind. We're confident."

Takahashi said future deals will "depend on progress" but likes that "Moses Lake has a long relationship with Japan."