Richland-Lexington Airport District

Richland-Lexington Airport District, operating as Columbia Metropolitan Airport, is a U.S. government entity and state airport authority that acts as a grant recipient from the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration for airport infrastructure development and modernization projects in West Columbia, South Carolina. The district does not hold federal contracts as a prime or subcontractor; its federal footprint consists entirely of Airport Improvement Program grants (CFDA 20.106, 20.116, 20.117) and related FAA funding mechanisms.

The district's recent grant portfolio spans taxiway and apron rehabilitation, terminal expansion and construction, runway safety improvements, and renewable-energy infrastructure. Representative projects include a $10.62 million Airport Improvement Program grant awarded August 25, 2025, funding the final construction phase to rehabilitate 18,000 square yards of general aviation apron pavement and 560 feet of Taxiway B, with completion scheduled for August 24, 2029; a $14.92 million grant from September 6, 2024, for reconstruction of 700 feet of Taxiway C, 800 feet of Taxiway A, and shifting of Taxiway A6 to meet FAA standards, completing September 5, 2028; a $6.32 million terminal expansion project granted August 8, 2023, to add one TSA screening lane (4,125 square feet of construction); and two concurrent solar microgrid power-supply projects totaling $7.10 million combined (one awarded June 19, 2026, for battery energy storage installation; one awarded April 6, 2026, under the Airport Infrastructure Grants program, CFDA 20.117). The district has also received design-phase grants for terminal renovation, taxiway realignment, and master-plan updates, plus COVID-19 pandemic relief funding under the American Rescue Plan Act.

Award activity from 2022 to 2026 shows modest fluctuation—one grant in 2022, five in 2023, three in 2024, four in 2025, and two in 2026 year-to-date—with combined potential value across all 221 awards in the source data reaching $54.8 million. The district's customer agencies are limited to the Federal Aviation Administration Southern Region (29 awards, $3.9 million potential value) as the primary grantor, with secondary relationships to the General Services Administration Public Buildings Service for facility leasing and the Department of Homeland Security Transportation Security Administration. The district's broader award history reflects heavy concentration in real-estate leasing and facility operations (169 awards under NAICS Lessors of Nonresidential Buildings, and 100 under PSC code for lease and rental of office buildings), reflecting its role as airport operator and property lessor to federal agencies using Columbia Metropolitan Airport facilities.