The chase for the elusive China cargo hub continues in the St. Louis region.

St. Clair County officials are now considering issuing more than a half billion dollars in bonds for a development project at the MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah that its backers say would spur international cargo flights.

If granted, the project would stimulate commerce at the Metro East airport, which has been under-used since it opened in 1998.

Chesterfield development consultant Gary Andreas, one of the founders of Strategic Air Cargo Inc., said the company has been working on the plan for more than three years. The airport’s location near highways and its 10,000 foot runway make it ideal for cargo, Andreas said.

“There are a massive amount of goods that could be sent here from China,” he said.

The project would include the construction of a 90,000 square-foot hangar, a more than 300,000 square-foot warehouse building and a 12,000 square-foot office building where Strategic Air would be based, Andreas said.

Strategic Air would use the bond proceeds for construction of the facilities and to buy four 747 passenger aircraft that would be converted to cargo planes, he said. The company would initially employ about 15 people, and pilots and crew for the aircraft would work on a contract basis.

A handful of local and out-of-town investors are involved in the project, Andreas said, but he declined to name them until the project progresses.

The St. Clair County’s economic development and finance committees gave preliminary approval for issuing $550 million in tax-exempt conduit bonds for the project on Tuesday night. Conduit bonds are issued by governments for non-government entities, which allows the borrower to access lower rates.

The St. Clair County Board will vote on the bond plan at its Monday meeting.

The bonds would not obligate the county to pay back funds if the group defaults, said Mark Kern, chairman of the St. Clair County Board. “It’s no cost to the taxpayers, we hold no liability,” Kern said of the bonds.

County economic development officials have worked on the proposal for about a year. “We’ve got a great place to do this,” Kern said of MidAmerica.

Since MidAmerica opened in 1998 at a cost of $213 million, the southwestern Illinois airport has struggled to find a niche. Located about 24 miles from downtown St. Louis, MidAmerica has sought to position itself as an international cargo hub.

“In the past, I don’t think anyone has stepped up with the complete package,” Andreas said of prior cargo efforts at MidAmerica.

A spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation confirmed Wednesday that airport officials recently informed the agency of the proposal, which is standard when airports are considering any new operations.

“We’re aware of it,” said the spokesman, Josh Kauffman. He said he couldn’t provide any further details, and referred all questions to the airport’s management. Tim Cantwell, MidAmerica’s director, did not return calls for comment.

The China cargo hub idea is not new to the St. Louis region.

Local business leaders have been talking with the Chinese for four years and believe a hub project out of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport would be a potential game-changer for the region’s economy.

A proposal before the Missouri Legislature last year for so-called Aerotropolis tax credits was rejected in October. The $60 million program would have subsidized air exports from Missouri. It was intended to make cargo flights from Lambert cheaper than from competing cargo hubs such as Chicago-O’Hare.

China Cargo landed flights from Shanghai to St. Louis in September and October of last year, but when the legislation collapse, the cargo flights were discontinued.

Developer Paul McKee, one of the architects of Missouri’s China hub efforts, had eyed MidAmerica several years ago as a site for the hub but ultimately settled on Lambert. McKee is not involved with Strategic Air, according to the company and county officials.

If the project at MidAmerica proceeds, it would be a boost to the local construction industry and economy, said Tim Garvey, CEO of the Southern Illinois Builders Association, which is based in O’Fallon, Ill.

“We’ve believed for a long time that MidAmerica would fulfill its economic development potential,” Garvey said. “We hope this is the development that makes that come to fruition.”

Kevin McDermott and Tim Logan of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.