The New Orleans Aviation Board will host a kick-off celebration for a new Consolidated Rental Car Facility (CONRAC) on Wednesday, July 7 at 9 a.m. in the Aviation Board Room.

The new CONRAC will greatly increase rental car capacity to accommodate current needs and anticipated growth over the next 15 years, increasing capacity from 800 cars to approximately 1,800 cars in a three story structure which will include rental car company counters and offices. It will also eliminate the need to shuttle all rental car customers to scattered locations on the airport or into the surrounding vicinity by providing a close-in, pedestrian-accessible facility in the core of the airport campus. The project will also provide modern, efficient vehicle service facilities on the airport equipped with administrative facilities and vehicle storage lots.

The project was designed by Coover-Clark & Associates and is being constructed by Satterfield & Pontikes Construction Group. The $74 Million project is being funded through customer facility charges (CFCs). Construction on the facility is anticipated to be complete by late 2012.

"This new rental car parking facility will not only provide a more convenient consolidated location for our passengers to pick up and drop off their rental cars but will reduce traffic and help the environment by eliminating the need for busing to the various rental car lots”, said Armstrong International Airport Director of Aviation Iftikar Ahmad. "This is a major milestone in our efforts to modernize our Airport for the good of the community and the traveling public.”

The CONRAC is part of a multi-year $400+ million Airport Capital Improvement Program.