Aero Center Wilmington, a new fixed-base operator, is set to break ground this week at the Wilmington International Airport (ILM).

Marathon FBO Partners, doing business as the FBO brand Aero Center Wilmington, will develop the new FBO on more than 6 acres, which is under a lease agreement with the airport.

The project includes two aviation hangars -- one at 15,000 square feet and the other at 10,000 square feet -- as well as an 11,000-square-foot FBO building/office to the site.

The FBO facility will be a two-story building with 6,000 square feet on the first floor and 5,000 square feet on the second floor, officials have previously said. 

An FBO provides general aviation services, such as fuel, hangaring and aircraft maintenance. 

A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for Friday, Sanjay Aggarwal, a partner in the new fixed-base operator, said Monday. Further details were not announced.

Areo Center Wilmington will offer parking, storage and maintenance services. 

Work was previously slated to start in the spring, but there was a delay in getting the final construction permits, Aggarwal, said, adding those permits were received earlier in the month. 

"We had our pre-construction kick-off meeting with the airport and construction mobilization is underway ... During the permitting process, we had some pre-fabrication work done and some site materials (like walls for the hangars) already delivered," Aggarwal said in an email.

The construction crew and equipment will be on-site for construction to start Monday, he said.

Construction will likely take about five months, he said, adding that the opening is slated for late 2021 or early 2022.

When built, Areo Center Wilmington will be one of two FBOs on ILM's grounds. The other FBO, Modern Aviation-Wilmington, which has been operating at ILM for more than four decades, changing names under new ownership in 2018.

Aggarwal said interest in the new facility is already picking up.

"We have received quite a few calls with interest in office space and hangars," he said, "and we're just waiting for the final permit and the start of construction before we engage a conversation with them."