CBMA to create the CNMI’s first PTAC

The CNMI Bureau of Military Affairs has been awarded $498,000 in order to establish the CNMI’s first Procurement Technical Assistance Center in the CNMI, under the aegis of the Defense Logistics Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense.

This award marks a first for the Department of Defense in providing these resources directly to a government agency for management and operation of a PTAC program. 

“PTACs around the nation and in our region have tremendous potential in supporting the growth of small businesses and connecting them with the resources needed to bid on and secure federal government contracts,” said Gov. Ralph DLG Torres. “The establishment of a PTAC program in the CNMI to provide opportunities for our businesses here comes at a critical time in our history and will aid in targeting federal resources to the entrepreneurs supporting the revitalization and recovery of our economy and our workforce.”

In previous years, PTAC support services were provided to CNMI businesses through an extension of the Guam PTAC operated by the University of Guam. The funding provided to the CBMA will provide technical assistance to businesses in the CNMI so they can compete on federal contracts, maximizing opportunities for small businesses to contribute to national security. 

“This is a critical leap forward for our work in ensuring the proper and beneficial integration of military activities in the CNMI with those who call these islands home,” said CBMA special assistant for Military Affairs, Glenna Sakisat-Palacios Reyes. “This program will provide direct jobs to our population and support even greater levels of economic activity throughout the businesses primed and ready to take on the important effort of providing goods and services in support of our nation’s military network.” 

For CBMA this grant award is a part of the larger effort to ensure the people of the CNMI are given the same opportunities for support that are available in communities around the nation. “With the increasing venues for contracting opportunities arising in the coming years, particularly those related to the development of the Tinian Divert and Exercises program, local entrepreneurs have the ability and are eager to compete,” Reyes said, adding that the CNMI PTAC and the services provided through this grant award “will even the playing field and provide our islands the resources to be successful and grow against bidders from around the United States.” 

The Department of Defense is currently implementing a range of initiatives in the Commonwealth that will present federal contracting opportunities to help support the operational readiness of the nation’s armed forces. Currently, the construction of the $316 million Tinian Divert Airfield is underway.

Through the grant award, the CBMA will establish a physical presence in the CNMI, where it will provide one-on-one trainings, open seminars, conduct outreach to civic organizations to expand knowledge and technical skills related to bidding on federal government projects, extending services to Saipan, Tinian and Rota. The CBMA highlights its interest in expanding resources to a range of federal funding opportunities pointing to its recent success in coordinating Federal Emergency Management Agency “Industry Days,” on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota where local businesses were connected with resources to compete for FEMA-related projects in the CNMI. 

“This is a new and focused effort to really take full advantage of the available resources and opportunities in our islands with the hope of expanding the gains and get a resurgence of our economy,” said Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios. “We are putting more of our government resources to ensuring businesses and entrepreneurs have the ability to grow and succeed regardless of the global impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Commonwealth Development Authority has already promised the free use of space for the new PTAC, the Office of Grants Management will coordinate counseling services on how to register for business DUNS and SAM numbers, and the Department of Commerce will offer office space to engage in one-on-one counseling sessions with PTAC clients, access to the small business library, the computer laboratory, and government and local businesses resource information. 

“We are working in close collaboration with the Defense Logistics Agency to host a joint event in January 2021 when we open the Center to provide businesses in the CNMI a procurement overview of the types of products and services that the Defense Logistics Agency procures and how to sell to them,” said Reyes. “We are also engaging with NAVFAC Marianas Small Business Office, under the direction of Rear Adm. John Adametz, commander of NAVFAC Pacific, for an upcoming outreach program to promote small business procurements and business opportunities under the Federal Acquisition Regulations.”

For more information about the CNMI PTAC or information related to the work of the CNMI Bureau of Military Affairs, contact Reyes at glenna.reyes@gov.mp. (PR)