Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday celebrated the Delta Regional Authority’s $3,448,973 investment that will boost economic development and improve the quality of life for Alabama communities and residents. The investment will be matched by $9.6 million and will attract an additional $440 million in leveraged private investment (LPI) into the Alabama Black Belt region.
The 13 new investment projects will improve water and sewer systems, update transportation infrastructure and support entrepreneurship in communities across the Alabama Black Belt. These projects are expected to create or retain 1,091 jobs, train 200 individuals and affect over 5,100 families.
“Alabama is proud of our ever-important federal state partnership with the Delta Regional Authority,” said Governor Ivey. “We look forward to seeing these funds positively impact and improve the lives of Alabamians across the Black Belt. With these thirteen new investment projects, communities will see improvements that are critical to economic growth throughout their areas.”
Funding for these projects is provided by the States’ Economic Development Assistance Program (SEDAP), which provides direct investment into community-based and regional projects to support basic public infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, workforce training and education and small businesses development with an emphasis on entrepreneurship, and the Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF), which targets physical infrastructure projects that help build safer, more resilient communities in the Delta region. DRA coordinates directly with the Office of the Governor for the state of Alabama and six local development districts in the state for program funding implementation.
“Delta Regional Authority works to bolster community revitalization and economic prosperity within the Delta and Alabama Black Belt,” said DRA Alternate Federal Co-Chairwoman Leslie Durham. “By strategically investing federal dollars into physical and human infrastructure, DRA helps alleviate the critical needs of the region in order to improve quality of life for our residents.”
