Sanford and Lee County’s Raleigh Executive Jetport will receive $4.77 million from the state of North Carolina, according to an announcement from the state Department of Transportation on Tuesday.

The funding will be used to construct new and improve existing taxi lanes at the airport, which is on Rod Sullivan Road in northern Lee County.

The funding is part of a $27 million-plus package approved on Sept. 2 by the North Carolina Board of Transportation for 13 airports in the state. Other airports receiving funding included Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo, Duplin County Airport in Kenansville, Hyde County Airport in Englehard, the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport, the Lincolnton-Lincoln County Regional Airport, the Lumberton Regional Airport, Macon County Airport in Franklin, Martin County Airport in Williamston, Michael J. Smith Field in Beaufort, the Mount Airy/Surry County Airport, the Statesville Regional Airport, and the Triangle North Executive Airport in Louisburg.

Airports and aviation-related industries contribute more than $61 billion to North Carolina’s economy each year, according to the 2021 State of Aviation report, supporting 373,000 jobs, generating more than $2.5 billion in state and local tax revenue, and providing more than $15 billion in personal income.

Raleigh Exec moved into a new, 14,500 square foot terminal in October of 2019.