The largest economic development project in N.C. history is transportation related — again.
- June 13, 2025
- Posted by: Jacob Rigg
- Category: Blog
RTA members,
North Carolina wins, again. JetZero, a startup “blended wing” aircraft manufacturing company, announced this week that they intend to create more than 14,000 jobs with a capital investment exceeding $4 billion. They are developing the first world’s commercial all-wing design airplane.
The goal is to provide a significantly more fuel-efficient design — up to 50% more efficient than conventional aircraft. The U.S. Air Force is investing more than $200 million into the company that will build blended wing body (BWB) aircraft in the Greensboro area at the Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO/PTI).
JetZero CEO and co-founder Tom O’Leary highlighted the “spirit of partnership around the mechanics of how to put a factory project together” along with the quality of the workforce pipeline in the Piedmont Triad area. In addition, Governor Josh Stein said, “We want North Carolina to not only be where aviation started, but where it goes into the future.”
While this project is not within the metropolitan Triangle region, it is still in central North Carolina. This means that current and future businesses and residents of our region and across the state will benefit tremendously from the JetZero investment, as well as the indirect and induced economic development that will follow, as noted in this TBJ article that quotes Michael Haley with Wake County Economic Development and the Greater Raleigh Chamber and Matt Gladdek with the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce.
The Toyota Battery announcement of 2023 was a great win, and so is this one. When North Carolina wins, all of North Carolina wins.
Joe
