Rhode Island taxpayers foot much of the bill for new factory to build notoriously dangerous WIG craft

US-based wing-in-ground (WIG) effect vehicle builder Regent has broken ground on a new 255,000 square-foot facility in Rhode Island for the manufacture of the controversial craft.

Millions of dollars in subsidies, tax breaks and incentives courtesy of the taxpayers of the state of Rhode Island will go toward the project.

Coming online in 2026, the facility will house component manufacturing, vehicle final assembly, and pre-delivery testing for a 12-passenger model.

"We’ve created our full-scale, passenger-carrying seaglider prototype, which will start sea trials in the coming months and make history with the first-ever human flight on a seaglider this year," said the company in a statement.  

Regent has received $1 million from the Rhode Island Commerce Department under the First Wave Closing Fund Act, and the state has further committed to investing $3 million under the Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credit Act.

In addition, Regent has committed to creating 300 jobs, with the potential for up to 750, over the next 10 years, unlocking up to $13 million in incentives under Rhode Island’s Qualified Jobs Program.

Over the last three decades or so, Baird Maritime has seen several such proposals fail expensively, and several WIG craft have been involved in fatal accidents. -Ed