Work could begin next fall on the construction of a 200,000 square foot combined aerospace center and advanced manufacturing center on the northeast side of El Paso.
Funding for the project is coming through a $40 million Build Back Better Regional Challenge award designed to spur regional manufacturing. The money is more specifically going to the University of El Paso and is part of a larger $1 billion being awarded to nearly two dozen projects nationally.
Those projects all have in common the goal of creating manufacturing facilities, while also strengthening regional economies.
In El Paso, the Build Back Better funds, as envisioned by a group called the West Texas Aerospace and Defense Manufacturing Coalition, will be used to support medium- and small-sized manufacturers supporting both the aerospace and defense industries.
The planned 200,000 square foot manufacturing campus, to go near the El Paso International Airport, will be built with the idea of it being expanded in the next 10 years to around 3 million square feet.
Between $25 million and $65 million is being awarded for various projects across the country under the Build Back Better Regional Challenge. According to the White House, those projects will, among other things, provide support to “family-owned manufacturers to transition from traditional automotives to electric vehicles,” while also supporting small businesses in Tribal communities, providing digital resources to small farms, and renovating and repurposing industrial buildings for new businesses.
By Garry Boulard
