Improvements will be coming to the Vicksburg Municipal Airport thanks to a federal aviation grant.

Mississippi’s senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith announced Tuesday that nine airports in the state will receive portions of a $2.4 million federal aviation grant to make improvements.

Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said Vicksburg would be receiving $371,000 from the pool, which will be used to pay for improvements to the drainage at the airport.

“It is top of the list. We were number 1,” Flaggs said. “That is money that I lobbied for. That is some of the same money I lobbied for when I was in Washington.”

Flaggs said the project should be able to move forward in the near future as they have already started preparing for the funds to be made available.

“We have a small percentage of it we have to pay as matching. We are going to have to go out to bid on the project,” Flaggs said. “It is going to improve drainage at the airport. We have water standing on airport property and this will allow us to improve the drainage.”

Flaggs said the project is a key part of the future development of Vicksburg as the airport will play a key role in economic development as will the airport in Mound, Louisiana, which Flaggs said the city of Vicksburg also helps support and fund.

“Both airports belong to Vicksburg in a sense. What we have to do is make certain they don’t compete against each other, but enhance each other. I think that is key to economic development,” Flaggs said. “It is the future of Vicksburg, especially when we are talking about the port, the technology incubator, the drones and the sports complex. Both airports are absolutely important to the future of Vicksburg.”

The remainder of the federal grant will pay for projects at airports in Yazoo County, Philadelphia, Wiggins, West Point, Okolona, Picayune, Ripley and the airport at the University of Mississippi in Oxford.

The Associated Press contributed to the report