Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.2 million grant to the Emanuel County Development Authority, Swainsboro, Georgia, for sewer infrastructure improvements needed to support local business growth and job creation.
This grant will provide for sewer system upgrades at the I-16 Industrial Park needed to boost its capacity to support a new logging manufacturing plant and other local businesses. This EDA investment will be matched with $767,320 in state and local funds, and is expected to create 100 jobs, and generate $12 million in private investment, according to grantee estimates.
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda is bolstering our infrastructure and supporting manufacturing here at home, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs across Georgia and the entire country,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This EDA investment will help create even more high-paying manufacturing jobs in Emanuel County and grow economic opportunity across the region.”
“The Economic Development Administration works hand-in-hand with local communities to support their bottom-up, middle-out economic development strategies,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo. “This strategic, place-based project will provide the infrastructure needed to accommodate a new manufacturing facility, creating a stronger, more diverse regional economy for the future.”
“Emanuel County families and businesses deserve world-class water infrastructure. We are delivering upgrades to Emanuel County to support economic development at the I-16 Industrial Park and attract more jobs and investment to the region,” said Senator Jon Ossoff.
“I remain committed to fighting for Georgians in every corner of our state, and that is especially true for our rural communities that are in critical need of robust economic development,” said Senator Raphael Warnock. “That is why I was proud to champion Emanuel County’s efforts and help secure this public health and infrastructure investment, which will create good-paying jobs and spur the local Swainsboro economy, and I will keep working to direct more federal resources to rural Georgia.”
This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Heart of Georgia Altamaha Regional Commission (HOGARC). EDA funds HOGARC to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs.
About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation’s regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA invests in communities and supports regional collaboration in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.