St. Joseph, Mo. ? St. Joseph’s bid for a Boeing 7E7 final assembly plant is on the modest side financially, but local officials say the city has some other things going for it.

The city’s strengths include a runway of up to 10,000 feet at Rosecrans Memorial Airport and good transportation access from the Missouri River port and railroads.

The fact that Wichita, Kan., is competing to build several components, including the nose sections, forward fuselage sections, engine nacelles and struts also may help, said Tom Lesnak, vice president of economic development for the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce.

Whether proximity to Wichita is enough to offset a $3.2 billion incentive package from the state of Washington remains to be seen.

“Washington kind of raised the bar,” Lesnak said.

The chamber sent its proposal Wednesday to the state Department of Economic Development and to McCallum Sweeny Consulting, which is reviewing sites for Boeing.

“It was a 40-page document of factual information on St. Joseph,” Lesnak said. “This is the biggest thing I’ve ever done. We’ve never done anything this thorough.”

Fortunately for St. Joseph, the consultant was asking for detailed information on St. Joseph’s economy, demographics and infrastructure rather than an incentive package.

Boeing has its headquarters in Chicago and manufacturing operations in Seattle, Wichita and the St. Louis area. The company is looking for a place to build the 7E7 Dreamliner, a next-generation, mid-sized passenger airplane.

The $900 million assembly facility would employ up to 1,200 in an industry that has gone into a nosedive since the 9-11 terrorist attacks.