Thu, Sep 18, 2008
Cessna Says New Large Business Jet Will Create 1,010 New
Jobs
There's little argument that Cessna Aircraft Company has been
good to Wichita, KS... and on Tuesday, the Wichita City Council
returned the favor, authorizing a $5 million loan to assist with
the planemaker's Citation Columbus business jet.
The Wichita Business Review reports the council voted 4-0 in
favor of granting Cessna the forgivable loan, matching a proposed
loan put forth by Sedgwick County that is expected to be approved
soon.
City spokesman Van Williams said two councilmembers were absent
from the vote, as was Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer.
As ANN reported, Cessna announced in February it would go ahead
with production of the Columbus, which was introduced as the Large
Cabin Concept proof-of-concept mockup at NBAA 2006. Slated to be
Cessna's largest aircraft to date, the Columbus is designed for
intercontinental travel with a target range of 4,000 nautical miles
at Mach .80 carrying eight passengers.
Cessna says it will need over $750 million to develop the
Columbus, creating 1,010 new jobs in the process. The Kansas
Department of Commerce previously committed $14.5 million in funds
towards the program.
Major fuselage components for the Columbus will be supplied from
Spirit AeroSystems... which received approval for its own $1.6
million cash incentive from the Wichita council last week.
Spirit plans to soon build a 375,000 square-foot factory to
handle Columbus production duties, creating another 700 new jobs
tied to the program.
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