Press Release: Interior Provides $9 Million to the Northern Mariana Islands in FY 2021 Capital Improvement Funds

PRESS RELEASE | March 26, 2021

Interior Provides $9 Million to the Northern Mariana Islands in FY 2021 Capital Improvement Funds

Funds will Support Renovations at the Hospital, Health Clinics, Schools, and the Utility in the Commonwealth

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs announces $9,082,000 in Capital Improvement Project (CIP) grant funding for a variety of priority needs across the territory.

“We are pleased to support the CIP priorities identified by Governor Ralph Torres which support and improve the quality of life for the people of the Northern Mariana Islands,” said Nikolao Pula, OIA Director and Acting Assistant Secretary. “These funds will support important renovation upgrades and maintenance needs at several important public facilities, including the hospital, health clinics, and schools in the territory.”

The Capital Improvement Project fiscal year 2021 grants announced are:

  • Construction, Maintenance, Renovation, and Improvements on Saipan – $2,813,090 will be used for CIP Program administration and infrastructure needs in the territory. Additionally, funds will be used to construct a new Municipal Council Building on Saipan and renovate and improve buildings for the Division of Procurement and the Attorney General’s Office in Susupe.
  • Commonwealth Utilities Corporation – $2,049,000 will be used to purchase heavy equipment and a crane to support utilities work and maintenance in the territory.
  • Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation – $1,000,000 will be used for roof repair and coating at the main hospital in the Northern Mariana Islands.
  • Department of Education – $1,000,000 will be used towards deferred maintenance needs at public schools throughout the territory.
  • Tinian Healthcare Clinic – $984,955 will be used to conduct roof repair and coating at the healthcare clinic on Tinian.
  • Rota Healthcare Clinic – $984,955 will be used to conduct facility, fire alarm system, and elevator upgrades at the Rota healthcare clinic.
  • Garapan Stormwater Management – $250,000 will be used to support the Garapan Coastal Community Resilience Initiative for Wetlands and Corals, a watershed management plan of green infrastructure integration projects to improve capacity and quality of stormwater retention in critical utility corridors in Garapan. The goal is to restore the natural capacities of wetland and marine systems and reduce risk and impacts of terrestrial flooding and storm surge on Saipan. This project has received support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Emergency Coastal Resilience Fund and other partners.

For more about the Office of Insular Affairs and the CIP program, visit www.doi.gov/oia.

The Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, @InsularAffairs, and the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) carry out the Secretary of the Interior’s responsibilities for the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, OIA administers and oversees federal assistance under the Compacts of Free Association to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. Follow and “like” OIA on Facebook and subscribe to the OIA YouTube Channel.

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