Bay County officials broke ground Thursday morning for the construction of the new Panama City-Bay County International Airport, which will replace an older facility that is no longer able to expand.

The first new airport to be built in the United States since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the complex will occupy part of the 78,000-acre West Bay Sector. The actual construction site of 4,000 acres was donated to the local airport authority by the St. Joe Company.

"We see this as one of the biggest events in Northwest Florida for probably the next 10 or 15 years," said Al Wenstrand, president of Florida's Great Northwest. "A new airport with an international designation with the proper length runway with all the security features without having to have them retrofitted will be good for the region."

Wenstrand's organization encourages economic development for an estimated 1.3 million Floridians across 16 counties. Once completed, Wenstrand said the airport could encourage growth in the aerospace, information technology, medical technology, logistics and distribution fields.

Panama City's current airport was built in 1948 and is constrained both by surrounding development and the presence of North Bay. The airport's runway safety areas no longer meet federal aviation standards, according to the airport authority.

DayJet marketing director Vicky Harris said the airport will efficiently connect business travelers to the Panhandle as it provides more flexibility to consumers and business travelers.

With the number of Leon County visitors arriving via airplane declining the past three years, Guy Thompson, executive director of the county's Tourism Development Council, said the new facility should not hinder Leon County tourism.

"Because of the fact 20 percent (of visitors) come from airplanes, I would expect a moderate impact, and we won't really know until it happens," Thompson said.

Total passenger counts at Tallahassee Regional Airport are down 6 percent for the first nine months of 2007, compared to this point last year.

"This airport is not going to be a huge airport to start with," Wenstrand said. "From Tallahassee's perspective, it doesn't need to look at Panama City negatively. I don't think it's going to be much competition for Tallahassee."