Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $8.6 Million to Boost the University of Guam’s Capacity to Support Economic Growth

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding an $8.6 million grant to the University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam, to increase the university’s capacity to support regional economic development. The EDA grant, to be matched with $1.7 million in local investment, is expected to create 243 jobs.

“The damage caused by Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 underscored the need for Guam to develop new capacity to protect its aquifer and to address a chronic shortage of healthcare workers,” said Dennis Alvord, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This EDA investment will provide the University of Guam the additional infrastructure it needs to support the territory’s economic growth and resilience to future disasters through research and training.”

This project will fund the construction of a new facility to house the only comprehensive water testing lab in the Micronesian region. The new lab will increase the ability of the university’s Water and Environmental Research Institute to monitor the health of Guam’s aquifer which provides fresh water for commercial and residential use throughout the island. It will also support the construction of a second building containing instructional space for the university’s School of Nursing, facilitating the training of more nurses to address a shortage of healthcare workers in both Guam and in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

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.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.