The Andalusia City Council and Andalusia Industrial Board have approved an agreement to build a 42,000 square foot expansion for Vector Aerospace that will mean 100 new local jobs averaging over the next two years.

When the new jobs are added, he said, Vector will have well over 200 local jobs averaging approximately $25 per hour.

Vector moved in to its existing facility at South Alabama Regional Airport about 18 months ago and has already outgrown the space.

Under the terms of the agreement, the city will oversee the construction of the expansion in much the way it did SaeHaeSung’s new facility in the Andalusia Industrial Park.

“They need it now,” Mayor Earl Johnson said.

The agreement approved by the council and the IDB states that the project is not to exceed $3 million.

The South Alabama Regional Airport Authority is in the middle of refinancing its debt through a bond issue, Johnson said. Until the bond issue is completed, it cannot build the expansion, which Vector needs immediately.

The Andalusia Industrial Development Board will finance the construction for five years and the lease and lease payments will be assigned to the IDB. At some point, the airport authority will take over the financial obligation for the expansion.

“I cannot express to you how excited I am this is taking place,” Johnson said. “This expansion will put us high on the totem pole with aerospace in South Alabama. Doing this in this way allows us to go quickly, which is critical for Vector.”

Vector provides helicopter maintenance and repair to military and domestic companies from its Andalusia location.