Work to extend the runway of the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport to 10,000 feet from 7,600 feet is scheduled to begin in September.
The St. Croix-based firm of V.I. Cement and Building Products has been awarded a $3.1 million contract for the first phase of the project, which involves land clearing, excavation and drainage work.
This phase should take about a year to complete, according to a Port Authority release.
The work will be 90 percent federally funded, with the territory responsible for the remainder.
Port Authority executive director Gordon Finch expressed elation "that we have finally received sufficient funding from the federal government to proceed with the runway extension."
The entire expansion project is expected to cost $16 million and to be completed in 2004, contingent upon the availabililty of the needed federal funds.
It is expected, Finch said, that the longer runway will be an incentive for domestic and foreign airlines "to consider St. Croix as a direct destination."