A major Lincoln, Neb. aircraft maintenance center is planning to build a $58 million office and hanger operation at Provo Municipal airport to service business aircraft.

About 650 jobs, offering an average wage of $38,396, or wages exceeding 150 percent of Utah County median wage of $25,597, will be created over the next 15 years, said Michael Sullivan, spokesman for the Governor's Office of Economic Development.

Approved on Thursday is a $6.6 million refundable economic development tax credit that the company will receive if it adds those jobs and more than $22 million in corporate income tax revenues to the state over the 15-year period. The credit is based on 30 percent of new state revenues generated by its business over the next 15 years.

"We've been working for a year on this deal. UVU has an existing flight center in Provo, which will be complementary to Duncan's business," Sullivan said.

Established in 1956 as a Beechcraft distributor, Duncan Aviation services business aircraft including Falcons, Hawkers, Challengers, Gulfstreams, Embraers, Astras, Westwinds, Citations and Learjets.

At the same time, the Governor's Office also approved providing a $250,000 Economic Opportunity Grant from the Industrial Assistance Fund to recruit a Delta Airlines direct flight from Salt Lake City to Tokyo.

"The incentive is aimed at helping them move forward with launching a new flight from Salt Lake City to Tokyo, hopefully, by summer or fall of 2009. The incentive is aimed at helping them marketing those flights once it begins," Sullivan said. "Just like the incentive we provided Delta once the Salt Lake City-Paris direct flight began, we helped them market those flights, and that's become one of Delta's top international flights with a load factor running at 80 percent full. That means every flight from Salt Lake to Paris, and Paris to Salt Lake is running at 80 percent full."