Press Release: U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $11.2 Million to Rehabilitate Roadway Infrastructure

ANNOUNCEMENTS | February 10, 2021

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $11.2 million grant to the Office of the Governor, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, to rehabilitate roadway infrastructure within a commercial district of Saipan. This EDA grant is expected to help create nearly 300 jobs and generate more than $1.3 million in private investment.

“The Economic Development Administration plays an important role in helping communities impacted by natural disasters not only rebuild, but rebuild stronger,” said Dennis Alvord, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This project will help the Northern Mariana Islands respond to the economic impact of Super Typhoon Yutu by making roadway infrastructure improvements that will support the capacity of employers to grow and provide high-skill, high-wage employment opportunities.”

“Rebuilding our roads after the devastating impact of Super Typhoon Yutu is critical to our long-term recovery here in the CNMI,” said Governor Ralph DLG. Torres. “I want to thank the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, our federal partners, and our community for their resilience in the face of natural disasters and a global pandemic. With this funding, we will create hundreds of new jobs for our local workforce and ultimately build a stronger Marianas for the future.”

This project is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-20) (PDF), which provided EDA with $600 million in additional Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) Program (PDF) Program funds for disaster relief and recovery for areas affected by Hurricanes Florence, Michael, and Lane, Typhoons Yutu and Mangkhut, wildfires, volcanic eruptions, and other major natural disasters occurring in calendar year 2018, and tornadoes and floods occurring in calendar year 2019, under the Robert T. Stafford Act . Please visit EDA’s Disaster Supplemental webpage for more information.

You can read the full EDA press release here.

OPD thanks EDA for funding the Garapan Revitalization Project as well as Governor Torres and Lt. Governor Palacios, the Garapan Revitalization Taskforce, our partners in the Built Environment Taskforce, and all stakeholders who helped to identify and work to fill this unmet infrastructure investment need. We look forward to seeing Garapan transformed into a world-class destination that is attractive for residents and visitors alike!