ATLANTA — Georgia Tech has received $88 million in state funding to design and build a new aerospace engineering building.

Chair of Aerospace Engineering Mitchell Walker said the investment is a major opportunity and positions Georgia to be the country’s aerospace hub.

“Aerospace is actually the number one export in the state of Georgia. Right now it can do about $12 billion annually, the aerospace product employs over 200,000 people. There are over 400 companies,” Walker said.

Walker said the funding shows Georgia is serious about becoming a leader in the aerospace industry.

“We’re positioned now to build a great talent force pipeline, have the facilities in place to assist the companies as well as have the research so they can remain competitive once they’re here,” Walker said.

Walker said Georgia’s aerospace sector is one of the largest and fastest-growing in the nation and is expected to surpass $1 trillion by 2040.