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To promote economic growth in Culebra, House Speaker Carlos ‘Johnny’ Méndez, along with the Mayor of the island municipality, Ediberto ‘Junito’ Romero, held a meeting with Port Authority Director Norberto Negrón to explore building a series of new hangars for aircraft maintenance at the Benjamín Rivera Noriega Regional Airport.
“Our goal is to support the initiatives of the Mayor of Culebra, who has expressed his desire to create a network of hangars for the maintenance of aircraft that fly to and from the Benjamín Rivera Noriega Regional Airport. We believe this presents a valuable opportunity to further promote economic growth in this island municipality, and we are committed to making this a reality,” explained Méndez, who represents District 36, which includes the municipalities of Río Grande, Luquillo, Fajardo, Ceiba, Vieques, and Culebra.
So far in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, which ends on June 30, the Culebra airport has received approximately 3,295 flights. The officials did provide a cost for the work or its financing.
The Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport underwent significant renovations, including the first rehabilitation and reconditioning of landing and takeoff runways in over 30 years, with a total investment of more than $4 million in federal funds, including support facilities.
“Our airport is an economic development hub with great potential. Our proposal focuses on developing several hangars to facilitate the maintenance of aircraft using this airport facility. For this reason, we are eager to discuss the matter in more detail with the Executive Director of the Port Authority to establish a program that brings this vision to life,” said the Mayor of Culebra.
In response, the Executive Director of the Port Authority expressed his willingness to work closely with the Mayor and the Speaker of the House to evaluate the proposal.
The discussion regarding the potential expansion of the hangar area of the Culebra airport brought a group of agency heads to the island municipality, including the Secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC), Sebastián Negrón; the Executive Director of the Public Buildings Authority, Félix Lassalle; the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Public Works, Edwin González; and Norberto Negrón.
The Senator for the District of Carolina, Héctor J. Sánchez, was also present.
