Kona International Airport is scheduled for a $745 million facelift over the next 20 years, with plans including a second-level international concourse, a hotel and conference center plus more concession and commercial areas.

The Kona International Airport Master Plan, which will serve as the blueprint for future construction at the airport, was released Tuesday by the Department of Transportation's Airports Division, West Hawaii Today reported.

The plan identifies facilities and construction projects needed in the future, determines how to finance the projects and creates a timetable.

"The master plan is the map with which we use to develop the future," said Chauncey Wong Yuen, district manager at the Kona International Airport. "It lays out the airfield and different configurations for the airfield and our plans for runways based on forecasts for the future."

The master plan calls for passenger terminal improvements, including improvements to the baggage claim and ticketing areas to improve circulation and efficiency and the expansion of restrooms throughout the facility. A second-level concourse that would serve international departures is also in the long-term plan.

In order for this to happen, however, the Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center will be relocated to an area along the south side of Keahole Street, where a cultural center and hotel and conference center are also planned.

Relocating the museum would provide additional space in central locations, allowing the airport to earn more revenue, Wong Yuen said.

There are also plans to improve TSA security checkpoints into one centralized screening location where agricultural screening could also be done.

A new airport entrance road would be created about one mile north of the current one, Wong Yuen said.

"It costs money to make money," he said. "We have a mandate to be self-sufficient. The Airports Division does not depend upon the state's general fund. We get our revenue based upon landing fees, rental car fees and we derive a certain percentage from the proceeds of concessions."

Wong Yuen could not estimate a date when projects contained in the master plan would start.

"Once the master plan is developed and we update our EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) then we start to lay out a plan to achieve those goals in the plan," he said. "It is all already happening starting today. It's all in a plan that we are working toward."

State, county and federal agencies, airline and concessions representatives and community groups interested in the airport's future, which is projected to serve nearly 4.7 million passengers annually, began developing the plan about two years ago. The last plan drawn for the Kona International Airport was completed in 1998.

The Federal Aviation Administration relies on airport master plans in its decision to allocate airport funding. About $310 million of the $745 million projected in the plan is eligible for FAA grants through its Airport Assistance Program.

The plan is available at www.kona-airport.com/index.html. A comment section has been included on the Web site for public input.