Global TransPark

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The North Carolina Global TransPark (GTP) is an economic development area in eastern North Carolina intended to spur transition in the region from an agricultural base to one of skilled labor and industrial manufacturing.

It is located approximately 30 minutes south of Greenville, North Carolina at the Kinston Regional Jetport (ISO) in Kinston, North Carolina. The TransPark is a combined airport-industrial complex developed by the state in Lenoir County. The runway has been extended to 11,500 feet, making it the longest commercial runway in the state, and a new 120,000 square-foot building is fully leased. Further construction is expected in the near future.

Designed to attract industry and bring increased economic opportunities to the citizens of Eastern North Carolina and beyond, the GTP features more than 2,400 acres available for development and an on-site Education & Training Center, now known as the TransPark Center.

Initial funding came from a $7.5 million appropriation from the state and a $5 annual license-plate fee levied against 13 counties in the region^[1] between 1994 and 1999^[2]. Inspired by the 1950s Research Triangle Park to the west, GTP's growth has been similarly slow, although proponents maintain that in time the concept will prove successful.

In May of 1996, the Global TransPark was designated as Foreign Trade Zone 214. The designation means companies can export and import products through the TransPark without many of the usual customs restrictions and tariffs.

Due to the rise in outsourcing, globalization, and lagging economy of the immediate area, the Global TransPark has not met the expectations of its proponents (who originally compared it to the Research Triangle Park) and is considered a boondoggle and white elephant by many North Carolinians.^[3]

But supporters of the Global TransPark point to recent success, such as the decision by Spirit AeroSystems of Wichita, Kansas, to locate a manufacturing plant there that will eventually employ more than 1,000 people. Spirit said it will invest $570 million in the project over the next six years and that the facility, which will manufacture the center portion of the fuselage of the Airbus A350 Xtra WideBody airplane, will be operational by 2010. State grants totaling about $125 million include a $5 million grant and more than $20 million, payable over 12 years, tied to the job creation. The Golden LEAF Foundation, which oversees North Carolina's share of tobacco-settlement money, also approved spending $100 million for Spirit's new building.^[4]

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has committed to building a rail spur, plus several road improvements within the Global TransPark, to allow Spirit to receive, build and ship out aircraft components. The rail spur will connect Spirit's planned manufacturing facilities to the North Carolina Railroad's east-west line that runs through the center of Kinston. The GTP's lack of rail and highway transportation assets had made it difficult to attract major industrial tenants. Although the assets are not currently available, state officials expect them to be ready by the time Spirit's facilities go online in 2010.

According to letters from NC DOT, the North Carolina Railroad will create a temporary rail spur by Jan. 1, 2010, and the complete rail link will be ready by Jan. 1, 2012. [1]

Other companies to locate facilities at the Global TransPark in recent years include Mountain Air Cargo, Henley Aviation, Commerce Overseas Corp., Longistics, MJE Telestructure, Segrave Aviation and Spatial Integrated Systems.