Phoenix will be supplementing their increased trade demand with alterations to the airport’s customs inspection portion, according to the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. 

Arizona is experiencing a high rate of increase in their employment from international companies, with over 113,600 Arizonans being employed by international companies. 

These companies include Latexco, which is based in Belgium, as well as Aerocircular. The former recently built a massive production center in Phoenix, which cost a total of $12 million, the latter also recently expanded its operations and will be adding over 130 jobs in the next five years. 

“The Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport is an ideal location for our operation,” Aerocircular CEO Koen Staut told the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. “Planes can fly right up to our facility and the infrastructure is there to support the transport of parts to the marketplace.”

Phoenix-Mesa Gateway will be integral in the ramping up of international companies’ operations, thanks to its location near the U.S.-Mexico border. 

A new customs inspection facility, in fact, is being built with the cooperation of the two nations. It will cost roughly $230 million and will create 6,400 jobs as well as 8,400 indirect jobs and result in 2,000 cargo flights on an annual basis. 

In addition to the customs facility, a development is being planned which will require 363.5-acres of mixed-use land, in addition to vast portions of space for both aeronautical and non-aeronautical developments, as well as commercial developments. 

While Mexico’s economy will enjoy the benefits of the SkyBridge first, there is likely to be more Latin American countries joining in the trading. 

“This will be the bridge to Latin America for a lot of these e-commerce or light manufacturing companies whose products would use an airplane to ship back and forth,” Marco Lopez, founding SkyBridge Arizona partner, told the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.