Gov. Kathy Hochul and a group of local officials broke ground Wednesday on a $1.5 billion makeover that will add 10 domestic gates to John F. Kennedy Airport’s Terminal 4, after the chief executive announced renovation plans for a separate part of the airport earlier in the week.

The renovation was downsized in April from a $3.8 billion plan for 16 gates amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The upgrade is slated to expand Terminal 4 by 150,000 square feet, creating 1,500 jobs, including 1,000 union construction jobs, officials said.

Delta Airlines operations will be moved to Terminal 4 when the project is completed — which is projected for 2023, according to the governor’s office.

The Terminal 4 facelift is part of a broader revamp of JFK Airport, originally proposed by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2017.

In all, the Queens airport facelift will cost $15 billion in private investment and create 20,000 jobs, officials said.

“It’s a signal of confidence to let the world know — despite some setbacks that are still with us — that we see a clear path, clear runway, for the future, and that means investing in jobs and opportunities right at this moment,” Hochul said Wednesday afternoon during a press conference at the airport. “It’s going to transform and modernize this terminal.”

“Today, we’re signaling all the pre-pandemic plans need to be supercharged and acted upon right now.” 

“The expanded Terminal 4 … will be a key part of making this airport a 21st-century airport,” said Port Authority head Rick Cotton. “We believe that Terminal 4 will represent the best of what travelers see around the world.”

The redone terminal will have “word-class and locally themed restaurants and shops,” according to Cotton.

“Today is truly a historic day for Queens,” gushed Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.

“This is probably the most excited I’ve ever been to trek down to JFK outside of getting on a Delta plane ahead to some island,” he quipped.

The groundbreaking comes after Hochul on Monday announced a $9.5 billion plan for an international terminal, Terminal 1, at JFK Airport’s south side after that project was also stalled by the pandemic.

Construction of the sprawling 2.4 million square-foot terminal is expected to begin in mid-2022 and the project will create over 10,000 jobs, according to the governor.

Named The New Terminal One, it’s set to be built on the sites of the airport’s existing terminals 1, 2 and 3.

The governor has said the massive cost will be paid for by a group of private backers. The revamped terminal is expected to open in 2026.