Spirit AeroSystems said on Wednesday it signed a contract with Airbus to design and produce a composite fuselage structure for the A350 XWB mid-sized jet program.

Spirit said the contract would be worth about USD$2.75 billion in revenue over the life of the program.

Wichita, Kansas-based Spirit said it will build a new facility in North Carolina to accommodate work that will initially employ 500 people, with plans for 1,000.

Construction of the new facility will start later this year, with operations expected to begin in 2010. Spirit, a former Boeing unit which makes a range of fuselage and wing parts for large commercial planes, is also a key supplier to Boeing.