$455 Million Price Tag if DHL Had Expanded in Northern Kentucky

It would have taken an investment of at least nearly a half-billion dollars from air cargo carrier DHL to expand the operation at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and keep the hub here, area economic development officials said Friday.

The $455 million investment in the local hub would have created 2,900 jobs, DHL told Kentucky economic development officials in a May 27 letter, said Dan Tobergte, executive vice president of the Tri-County Economic Development Corp., the agency that tried to keep DHL here.

DHL last week announced it was consolidating its hub operations in Wilmington, about 50 miles northeast of Cincinnati, and would close its Greater Cincinnati hub in September 2005. Ohio offered a $422 million package, including guaranteeing $300 million in low-interest bonds to be repaid by DHL.

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