The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey commissioners have approved a 20-year lease of two Newark Liberty International Airport buildings for a regional air cargo hub.

Under the lease, Amazon will redevelop two 1990s vintage buildings into a state-of-the-art, 250,000-square-foot (23,225-square-meter) air cargo campus.

“This will be a regional hub on the east coast,” said Rick Cotton, Port Authority executive director. “Cargo will come in and be dispatched in large shipments to last-mile distribution warehouses.”

The redevelopment will cost Amazon $125 million and will not utilize Port Authority funds. Amazon will pay $150 million upfront for the property and $157 million in rent over the next two decades.

Port Authority Director of Aviation Huntley Lawrence said that the facility could open during the first quarter of 2023 and would employ 1,000 people from local communities.

(AP)