For those who question the benefits Washington derives from owning and operating an airport, some answers to that question were provided Monday during the grand opening of the new terminal building at Washington-Warren Airport.

Tony Tata, secretary of the N.C. Department of Transportation, provided a few of those answers during his keynote speech at the dedication ceremony.

“To give you a statewide perspective, North Carolina’s 72 publicly owned airports contributed nearly $26 billion to the state’s economy, which is 6 percent of the state’s gross domestic product,” said Tata, a retired Army brigadier general and a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. “Washington-Warren Airport is responsible for more than $3.7 million in annual economic activity and supports about 30 jobs for this community.”

Tata noted that dedicating the new terminal building at the airport on Memorial Day was fitting.

“Dedicating this airfield with its roots steeped in Navy and Air Corps history is appropriate as well,” he said, referring to the airport’s use by the military during World War II.

Bobby Walston, director of DOT’s Division of Aviation, spoke about the importance of the airport and its new terminal building.

“Take just a second and realize that airport — part of that word is port. That’s what this represents. It’s a port into your community. If you think about his beautiful body of water out here and you look at the map of North Carolina, you see that this is a port that’s leading you into this beautiful area.”

Walston described seeing the new terminal building as the jet carrying him, Tata and others landed at the airport.

“What a first impression,” he said.

Tata also discussed the new facility’s appearance.

“This has to be the nicest, most prettiest, welcoming in all 100 counties that I’ve been in in the state. So, congratulations on a job well done,” he said.

Tata noted that Gov. Pat McCrory created an aviation task force charged with preparing a comprehensive report and recommendations for enhancing the state’s aviation programs. The task force is examining several focuses areas such as funding, economic development and how aviation can provide support to the military, all which are critical to the state’s future, Tata said.

“All of these efforts are aimed at fully leveraging our transportation infrastructure to create jobs, support economic development and provide better connections to health-care, job, education and recreation centers,” Tata said.

The former terminal building was destroyed by a gustnado July 1, 2012.

Of the overall $1.1 million spent on the new terminal building, the city provided about $35,000, according to Allen Lewis, the city’s public works director.