Gov. Robert Bentley, R-Tuscaloosa, and the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) announced on Thursday a series of grants aimed at creating jobs and improving economic conditions in Alabama’s Black Belt Region.
“Job creation remains my number-one priority, and these projects will ultimately help more people find good, high-paying jobs,” Gov. Bentley said. “Alabama’s partnership with the Delta Regional Authority pays dividends by supporting economic growth in areas where it is needed the most.”
The economic development grants announced Thursday are funded by the DRA. A fifth grant also announced on Thursday will shoot to eliminate a health hazard in the Lowndes County town of Mosses.
Grants announced include:
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$311,952 to the Wilcox County Industrial Development Authority: This grant will facilitate the development of Golden Dragon Copper. Golden Dragon is currently building a copper-tube manufacturing facility in Pine Hill, which will provide 300 to 500 new jobs. The grant will help the Wilcox County Industrial Development Authority purchase 274 acres of land, of which 140 acres is being used to construct Golden Dragon Copper. The authority will retain 134 acres for future use.
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$300,000 to the town of Fort Deposit: This grant will prepare a local industrial park to meet the needs of future industry. Specifically, an existing access road to the Fort Deposit Industrial Park can now be repaved. The grant will also help provide site preparation for a parking lot for future industry.
Economic developers expect two other grants will strengthen the workforce in West Alabama by providing training to advance skills and help ensure qualified workers are available for existing and future industries in the region. These grants include:
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$93,500 to the University of West Alabama Foundation: This will help establish an automotive technician certification program to help workers find employment with suppliers of Mercedes-Benz North America in Vance.
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$93,500 to the Sumter County Commission: To provide a worker training program to assist first-time, non-violent offenders in finding employment. The program will serve Choctaw, Clarke, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Pickens, Perry and Sumter Counties.
The fifth grant announced Thursday is aimed at improving quality of life and health conditions:
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$15,000 to the town of Mosses: To provide sewer services for an area of the town in which residents are served only by private septic tanks, many of which do not work properly and have been deemed a health hazard. The project is an extension of the sewer system owned by the adjacent town of Gordonville.
“In a variety of ways, Delta Regional Authority projects are improving lives in Alabama’s Black Belt,” said ADECA Director Jim Byard Jr. “The scope of the grants announced today range from improving health conditions to improving prospects for people to find good jobs throughout the region. DRA projects are having a significant, positive impact.”
The Delta Regional Authority is a federal-state partnership created by Congress to address severe and chronic economic stress in parts of eight states. 20 Alabama counties are part of the DRA region.
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