The new terminal at the Cherokee County Airport is now open for business.

The terminal is part of the $34 million dollar expansion of the airport, which is scheduled to be completed next year.

Construction of the terminal took longer than expected but has been worth the extra time, according to Don Stevens, chairman of the airport authority.

"We had some construction delays like everybody does," he said. "We love it. I think it is one of the nicest buildings in Cherokee County."

Work on the new terminal began in May of last year. The $1.4 million dollar building includes a lobby, conference room and a pilot's lounge. The terminal also includes four offices that are for rent.

The airport expansion, which includes $15 million in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds committed by the county government, includes extending the 3,414-foot runway and parallel taxiway to 5,000 feet to accommodate corporate jets. It also increases the hangar space to up the number of planes that can be based at the airport from 100 to 300.

The building was opened on Saturday. S&S Aviation, the airport's fixed base operator, is operating the building for the airport authority and has a representative on site.

Phil Eberly of WK Dickson & Co., the manager of the expansion project, said work on the third phase of the expansion project, which includes placing dirt for the runway overrun and for the parallel taxiway, is scheduled to begin next month.

He said the state Department of Transportation has asked the authority to go forward with the bidding of the fourth phase, which includes the rest of the dirt work and paving of the runway and taxiway, in June. After the runway and taxiway, Eberly said the last piece of work to be done was some additional apron work between the terminal building and the existing hangars. He said the work should be complete by the spring of next year.

Eberly added that WK Dickson is the first tenant of the new terminal building.

"It makes sense for us to be here and have a plane here," Eberly said, adding that WK Dickson has clients all over the southeast and being at the airport shows the company's commitment to the project.