The U.S. Department of Transportation has designated nearly $6.5 million for the design and construction of a new air traffic control tower at Kona International Airport.

"The existing control tower — built as a temporary facility 36 years ago — is ill-suited for an airport that now serves 3 million domestic and international travelers," U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye said in a news release Wednesday.

Inouye, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to provide a timetable for the completion of site and design assessment for the tower, whose estimated cost is about $26 million.