Gary/Chicago airport breaks ground on $15M cargo ramp

Gary/Chicago International Airport broke ground Aug. 11 on a cargo and general aviation ramp to further its goal of growing its cargo sector. 

The airport (GYY) is located about twenty-five miles from Chicago and serves as a secondary airport to Chicago O’Hare (ORD), the sixth-busiest cargo airport in North America, moving 2.1 million tonnes of cargo in 2024, according to Airports Council International-North America. 

The airport awarded a $15 million construction contract to Superior Construction to build the 8.5-acre concrete ramp over a 50-acre site, according to a release from GYY last week. The Gary, Ind., airport expects the ramp to be completed by December, it told Cargo Facts. 

“This bid is a significant step forward in the evolution of our increasingly important cargo and logistics sector, which has seen tremendous growth since it first launched less than five years ago,” airport Executive Director Dan Vicari said in the release. 

Investing in cargo 

The ramp construction is the latest step in Phase I of GYY’s plan to grow its cargo sector. GYY acquired 4.7 acres of land in April for $925,000 to accommodate cargo expansion, GYY told Cargo Facts. The land will be developed as part of Phase II cargo expansion plans. 

The airport broke ground last year on Phase I of its $67 million cargo services infrastructure investment.  

Phase I will build air cargo infrastructure to enable the airport to accommodate eight widebody freighters concurrently, the airport told Cargo Facts. The airport owns 60 acres planned for air cargo operations, an April 9 release said. 

Phase II will allow the airport to accommodate eighteen widebody freighters simultaneously, the airport said. 

GYY began cargo operations in November 2020 with UPS, which signed a long-term lease. UPS signed a five-year lease with GYY in May 2020 that included an option to extend for two additional five-year terms. In November 2024, UPS signed an agreement that added a five-year term, potentially keeping UPS at GYY until 2040. 

Secondary airport growth 

The airport’s cargo throughput was 37,598.9 tonnes in 2023, GYY told Cargo Facts. The figure fell to 29,418.4 tonnes in 2024. This year, through July, the airport’s cargo throughput was 14,699.1 tonnes. 

GYY ranks third among Indiana airports for cargo volume, according to the release.  

Many secondary airports are growing cargo operations to become more attractive to shippers looking to avoid congestion at larger airports. 

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