Since being acquired by the city of Sugar Land in 1991, the Sugar Land Regional Airport has spent more than $100 million on safety improvements and new construction. Recent and upcoming projects are funded through the airport's own revenue. The Airport Improvement Program federal grant and the Ramp Grant, which is awarded by the state, have also provided project funding.

As operations have continued to increase, the airport has undergone several recent safety improvements, which are being completed with the business community in mind, Director of Aviation Phil Savko said.

"This airport has grown using managed growth," he said. "[The airport] is a service to the city that caters to the community as a whole and the business community as well."

The most recent safety improvements include the implementation of 20-foot safety shoulders on either side of the airport's 8,000-foot runway, along with runway repairs, new signage, paint and high-power lighting.

The airport's controls, from air traffic to runway lighting, have been brought to the air traffic control tower, Savko said.

"Technology-wise, these improvements are right up to date," he said. "This gives us another additional level of safety for the aircraft out here."

The next airport project is the relocation of Taxiway Foxtrot, which runs parallel to the runway. To comply with federal regulations, the taxiway will be relocated 250 feet away from the runway.

The project will be completed in three phases over the next three years and is slated to start reconstruction this spring.

In preparation for the relocation, the airport secured several acres of former prison land. The section east of the runway, known as "Smithville," was the former prison guard housing for the Central State Prison Unit, which the Texas Department of Criminal Justice closed in summer 2011.

An additional 44.2 acres of former prison land owned by the state sits to the west of the airport, which is expected to be for sale later this year. The city plans to purchase and develop the land with businesses that compliment the aviation industry. Development of the land is in the works and will be included in the airport's ongoing business plan, Savko said.