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Kelowna International Airport is about to get a lot bigger — on the east side, anyway.

Ottawa is committing up to $22.4 million to open up the airport's East Lands, Member of Parliament Stephen Fuhr announced September 28.

The money flows through the federal Build Communities Strong Fund and will pay for the unglamorous stuff that makes land developable: water, sanitary sewer, stormwater, electrical and communications infrastructure across more than 165 acres of airside employment and industrial land, the Business Examiner reported.

The first phase alone would make roughly 90 acres development-ready — a runway-accessible industrial park on the airport's eastern border.

The pitch: serviced land for Canada's aerospace industry, skilled training jobs, and a stronger local economy.

The other $36.4 million

The federal cheque is only part of a $58.8-million project authorized by the City of Kelowna.

The remaining $36.4 million will be financed as debt through the Municipal Finance Authority, with repayment coming from airport reserves — not, we're told, from local property taxes.

That "not from property taxes" part is doing a lot of work in this announcement, and taxpayers should hold the city to it.

Why it matters

Kelowna's aerospace sector is real, not aspirational — and serviced airside land is genuinely scarce.

If this land fills with maintenance shops, manufacturers and training operations, it's a long-term win for trades employment in the Central Okanagan.

If it sits empty while the debt clock runs, it's a $58.8-million lesson in optimism.

The verdict, for now

Jobs-first infrastructure is the right instinct. Aerospace is a real industry, not a press-release one.

But debt is debt, and airport reserves are still public money.

Kelowna should treat this like an investment with a ledger, not a gift with a ribbon: publish the tenants, publish the repayment schedule, and let the numbers do the talking.