U.S. Sugar and Hendry County seek to turn sleepy airport into cargo hub to rival MIA - Broward Bulldog

Didn't see this coming, but it coincides with other plans that are springing up along the interior of the Florida peninsula. Click title for link.

At the heart of a controversial plan for a huge new development near the northwest edge of the Everglades – dubbed “Big Sugar City” by environmentalists – is a crucial, but less noticed proposal for a $400 million makeover of a flyspeck of an airport in rural Hendry County.
The goal is to transform sleepy Airglades Airport, where skydiving is the reigning business, into an international hub for perishable cargo to rival Miami International Airport about 80 miles to the southeast. If it doesn’t happen, Big Sugar City, also known as Sugar Hill, may not become a reality either.
Airglades International LLC (AIA), the private outfit selected by Hendry County to develop the airport, has a straightforward business plan: add a new 10,000 or 12,000-foot runway, build a one-stop air cargo complex and siphon off MIA’s multi-billion dollar perishable cargo business – everything from fresh food and flowers to drugs and medical shipments.
Last year, MIA accounted for 72 percent of all U.S. perishable imports.