Gov. Nathan Deal and members of the OneGeorgia Authority Board recently approved $9 million in grants and loans from the authority’s portfolio of financing programs.
These awards will assist with a variety of economic development projects in rural Georgia aimed at creating jobs, stimulating new private investment, supporting the retention of existing jobs and enhancing regional competitiveness through capacity-building projects.
The Economic Development Growth and Expansion (EDGE) awards are projected to create more than 1,652 jobs statewide as well as retain an additional 657 jobs. An EDGE award given in the area was:
Savannah Economic Development Authority/Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc.
•EDGE award: $3 million; total project cost: $352,012,974
•Total jobs: 500 new jobs by Dec. 31, 2016; interstate competition: Alabama, Florida and South Carolina
The Equity Fund assists communities and regions in building the necessary infrastructure to support economic development. An Equity award given in the area was:
Wayne County Industrial Development Authority — Enhancing regional competitiveness/Building purchase
• Equity loan award: $500,000; total project cost: $635,000
The OneGeorgia Authority was created with one-third of the state’s tobacco settlement to assist Georgia’s most economically challenged areas. The authority is expected to receive approximately $1.6 billion over the 25-year term of the settlement. From its inception to date, OneGeorgia has given 539 awards totaling more than $320 million, leveraged against total project investment of more than $8 billion. This is a return on investment of 25-to-1 and has impacted 139 economically depressed counties. More than 57,000 jobs have been retained and created.