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NMTI to use $10.3M grant to build typhoon-proof building
Investment in training seen to create 410 jobs
The Biden administration cleared Thursday the release of $10.3 million in disaster recovery aid awarded to the Northern Marianas Technical Institute, an investment that may result to creation of 410 jobs, according to Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP).
In his e-kilili newsletter posted over the weekend, Sablan said the money is intended to build NMTI’s new typhoon-proof building that will house classrooms and offices to support the trades program.
He underscored the need for the trades program as the CNMI continues the multi-year task of rebuilding from the devastation of Super Typhoon Yutu in 2018.
He said the new Biden administration continued to clear the backlog of Marianas disaster recovery aid applications.
NMTI applied for funding to build a new training facility in September 2019, just a few months after the U.S. Congress made the money available in U.S. Public Law 116-20. However, Sablan said, the Economic Development Administration took no action “until now.”
“[A total of] 410 jobs are forecast to be created as a result of this investment in training,” he said.
Sablan said that, together with the recently announced grant to the Northern Marianas College, EDA is confirming his long-held belief that investing in education is key to the CNMI’s economic future and one of the best ways for the Commonwealth to build back better.
