Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $13.2 Million to Boost Northern Marianas College’s Capacity to Support Business and Job Growth

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $13.2 million grant to Northern Marianas College (NMC), Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, to increase the college’s capacity to support regional economic development. This EDA grant is expected to help create 272 jobs and generate $13.5 million in private investment.

“The 2018 impact of Super Typhoon Yutu on Saipan caused extensive damage to the island’s infrastructure,” said Dennis Alvord, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This investment will support the commonwealth’s ongoing recovery by providing resources to develop new capacity in industries that will contribute to its economic resilience.”

“We are thankful to EDA for its assistance to NMC,” said Governor Ralph DLG. Torres. “These grant funds will help NMC Cooperative Research, Extension, & Education Services (CREES) expand food security and to stimulate increased local agriculture production, local economic activity, and build opportunities to develop youth through entrepreneurship and leadership building programs.”

Governor Torres added that CREES facilities were destroyed as a result of Typhoon Soudelor and then again due to Super Typhoon Yutu. The awarding of this funding to construct the Center for Research, Extension, and Development (CRED) represents a sustainable and resilient way forward for NMC CREES to be able to better serve our CNMI.

“It has been 14 months since Northern Marinas College applied for this typhoon recovery funding and it will be a great relief to College students and staff to know that help is finally on the way,” said Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan. “I want to thank the Biden administration for taking prompt action to help the Marianas build back better.”

This project will fund construction of a facility for use as a research, extension, and development center at Northern Marianas College to replace and augment existing college facilities, 87 percent of which were either destroyed or suffered major damage from Yutu. The new facility will house instructional space for the college’s nursing program, a new simulation lab for the NMC Business Department, and other resources to develop the commonwealth’s capacity to develop industries that contribute to economic growth.

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.