GOVERNOR GILMORE
SIGNS BILL ESTABLISHING CARRIER INTEGRATION CENTER DURING CEREMONY AT
NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING
NEWPORT NEWS, Va., June 19, 1998
–Governor Jim Gilmore signed legislation that approves funding for the
Virginia Advanced Shipbuilding and Carrier Integration Center to be
built in Newport News. The signing ceremony was held at Newport News
Shipbuilding (NYSE: NNS).
The legislation provides $58 million
over three years to build the facility and another $40 million to begin
its operation. Newport News Shipbuilding will build the facility for
the Newport News Industrial Development Authority and will operate the
center under the oversight of a board appointed by the Governor.
The Center, once in operation, will
serve as the focal point for the integration of systems and the application
of emerging technology onto future aircraft carriers.
In addition to Governor Gilmore, other
ceremony participants were Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade
Barry DuVal and Newport News Shipbuilding Chairman and CEO Bill Fricks.
Also in attendance were many members of Virginia’s General Assembly
and state and local officials, all of whom were instrumental in the
passage of the bill.
In welcoming the Newport News Shipbuilding
employees and the officials in attendance, Fricks said, "Today we take
a critical and historical step toward preserving Virginia’s legacy as
the carrier capital of the world."
Upon signing the bill, Governor Gilmore
said, "We think the Center will greatly enhance Virginia’s chances of
securing the next generation of aircraft carrier design, integration
and construction. It will also directly benefit Virginia’s institutions
of higher learning, which will play a crucial role at the Center in
research and development as well as in the training of shipyard employees."
Once in operation, the Center will be
occupied by about 500 people from Newport News Shipbuilding, the Virginia
shipbuilding industry, the U.S. Navy, Virginia universities and other
high-tech companies. The Center, expected to be about 230,000 square
feet, will be constructed in downtown Newport News on a site yet to
be determined. The groundbreaking is expected by the end of the year
with operations beginning by mid-2001.
Newport News Shipbuilding is America’s
premier shipbuilding company with annual revenues of approximately $1.7
billion and 18,000 employees. The company is the leader in the design
and construction of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines
for the U. S. Navy.
