A new £12m engineering complex at Norwich International Airport, designed to make the city a centre of the aviation industry, has moved a step closer to reality.
Norfolk County Council today signalled it would provide the final £6m required to allow the project to take off.
Its officers have recommended a loan and next Monday councillors will make a decision on the proposals.
The vision for the training academy, which would boost the region's aviation skills in a bid to create more jobs, was unveiled in 2013 and could take students from September next year.
It secured £3m of government funding in January 2015, KLM UK Engineering will provide funding which includes a live aircraft and, next Monday, the county council's policy and resources committee will decide whether to approve a loan of £6.25m to its commercial arm Norse.
This would be a significant investment at a time when County Hall budgets were stretched, but the authority's leader said it would boost the local economy.
George Nobbs, leader of Norfolk County Council and chairman of the policy and resources committee, said: 'Even in times of great austerity, it is vitally important to continue to invest in the future of Norfolk people and that is why I am so pleased to see the aviation academy at Norwich Airport gaining such momentum.
'Together with partners such as KLM, the UEA, the Aviation Skills Partnership and, by using our commercial arm, Norse, we are determined to get the academy off the ground.
'The concept of the academy was one of the first things that was mooted when I first became leader of the council and I'm very glad to see what was then just a vision becoming a reality.
'I am always talking about 'real jobs' for our Norfolk people and the aviation academy is a real building block in attracting well paid and permanent jobs to our county.
'I hope everybody will be fully behind this exciting project.'
The proposed scheme, called Norwich International Aviation Academy (NIAA), is the work of the county council, Norwich International Airport, KLM UK Engineering, City College Norwich, the University of East Anglia, New Anglia LEP, Norwich City Council and the Aviation Skills Partnership.
It would initially focus on aviation engineering, then gradually expand its remit to train the pilots of the future, as well as provide training in ground crew operations, air traffic control, cabin/crew training, operations, and planning.
The £6.25m loan from the county council would, if approved, be made to Norse Group to enable a building near or within the airport to be refurbished to house the academy.
When built, the new academy will boast 20 classrooms, five engineering workshops, a complete live aircraft and helicopter in an emulation zone, offering trainees first-class facilities in which to learn.
A county council report makes it clear that Norse is bearing the commercial risk and guarantees sufficient income to the county council to cover the capital and interest repayments.
KLM UK Engineering is currently delivering training at its technical college at a site nearby and the company would bring all their training needs together at the new site.
City College Norwich runs an aviation engineering course in its existing facilities and would relocate the course to the purpose-built academy premises. The report states that the college would use the site for engineering, cabin crew and airport operations programmes.
The facility would be ready to take students in September 2016.
The New Anglia LEP secured £3m towards the academy in January as part of its growth deal with the government, and City College Norwich will contribute £120,000 toward kitting out its respective training space.
Chris Starkie, managing director of New Anglia LEP, said: 'This is a crucial next step for this exciting aviation project and a great example of the LEP and the public and private sectors, working together to secure funding to improve skills and create future jobs.
'The academy will help meet the needs of local students to train and build careers in this specialist industry and will be a powerful draw for further inward investment.'
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