DeSantis awards over $13 million to boost aviation and maritime growth in Northwest Florida
Florida – Governor Ron DeSantis has announced more than $13 million in additional funding for infrastructure projects in Northwest Florida. The money will go through the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund to help the aviation, aerospace, and maritime businesses in the Panhandle.
The Panama City–Bay County Airport and Industrial District, the City of Port St. Joe, and the Gulf County Board of County Commissioners will all benefit from the funding.
According to state leaders, the expenditures are meant to improve important infrastructure, build more housing for workers, and bring private businesses to the area.
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DeSantis noted that the projects funded by the new round of awards are projected to create hundreds of jobs and set Panama City, Port St. Joe, and Gulf County up for long-term economic success.
The Job Growth Grant Fund has helped create more than 42,000 jobs and 32,000 opportunities for people to learn new skills since 2019. The governor said that Florida has reached the top national ranking for workforce education five years ahead of the goal set in 2019.
The Panama City – Bay County Airport and Industrial District will get the biggest single award, which is $5 million. The money will help build a 160,000-square-foot testing and maintenance station for aircraft engines at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. The plans say that 120,000 square feet would be set aside for engine repair, while the rest will be used for testing. The initiative is expected to produce up to 400 new jobs for technicians in Bay County.
A two-phase road project in Port St. Joe will cost $2,250,709 and is linked to the building of 177 homes for workers. The work includes resurfacing an old road, establishing a new 1,380-linear-foot connecting road, and putting utilities underground to make the area stronger against hurricane-force winds. The housing project is planned to create 190 jobs in the area.
Gulf County will get $6 million to build a self-docking float dry dock at a shipyard with a group of mooring dolphins. The project would keep 125 jobs at Eastern Shipbuilding and add 337 new ones.
The Florida Job Growth Grant Fund has given out more than $318 million for infrastructure and workforce training projects across the state since it started. FloridaCommerce looks over proposals and the governor picks the ones that will best meet the needs of the local economy and workers.
For more information on the Job Growth Grant Fund, click here.Top of Form
