The Miami-Dade Expressway Authority has authorized the sale of 5-3 acre to the County’s Aviation Department for a $10.1 million tag price. The terrain is to be used as a construction staging area for the Capital Improvement Program of Miami International Airport. The operation is yet to be approved by county commissioners, likely in early 2023. The land purchase was approved by the MDX Board of Directors on 10/11/22.
The Authority (MDX) initially was going to use the land for the State Road (SR) 836/ (SR) 112 Interconnector, which was aimed to provide connection from MIA to (SR) 112, but the project was deemed no longer viable in 2017. As a result, the Aviation Department reached MDX to buy the properties. The Capital Improvements Program of the airport was approved by the commission back in 2019 to fund up to $5 billion in modernization projects over the next five to 15 years.
Through the program, the airport would prepare its facilities for future growth in passenger and cargo traffic, projected to reach 77 million travelers and more than 4 million tons of freight by the year 2040, according to projections by the Aviation Department.
Many airlines have recently announced their return, expansion or beginning of service at the airport, including Alaska Airlines, SKY Airlines Peru, GOL, Royal Air Maroc and Tui Fly, among others.
The airport has been trying to expand to accommodate the projected expansion, although not much land is available in its surroundings. As a result, the county has decided to shift to vertical development, and approve negotiations with CR USA Airport Management, Inc. and AIRIS USA LLC to construct the “Vertically Integrated Cargo Community” that is nearly double cargo capacity in less than five years.