Mesaba Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Northwest Airlines Corp., announced today that it will construct an $11.8 million aircraft maintenance facility at Des Moines International Airport. This is the first maintenance facility for the airport.

The 75,000-square-foot building will consist of four aircraft bays and handle maintenance for the carrier’s fleet of 50-seat Bombardier C3J-200 and 76-seat CRJ-900 regional jets. It will generate 30 skilled technician jobs.

“It’s a really good fit, and Des Moines will start to see a nice upgrade in services,” said airport aviation director Craig Smith.

Mesaba considered six locations, but chose Des Moines for its flight schedule, proximity to Northwest’s hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit and Memphis and the infrastructure already in place.

Construction is expected to begin this fall with completion of the facility in the third quarter of 2008.

“I knew we had a lot to offer,” said Congressman Leonard Boswell, “and I think Mesaba made the perfect decision.”