Warren County Port Commission receives grant to continue improvements at CERES Industrial Park

From the Vicksburg Warren Partnership:

The Warren County Port Commission, a partner in the Vicksburg Warren Economic Development Partnership, has been approved to receive a grant from the Mississippi Development Authority for $241,450 to start construction of a road to allow access to CERES’ largest available site and to support in the rehabilitation of water infrastructure assets.

The funds are provided by the Mississippi Development Authority as part of the Premier Site Development and the Ready Site programs, which the State entity provides to support communities in their efforts to attract more jobs and investments to Mississippi. The grants are announced every year by the Mississippi Development Authority after a careful application process and on a competitive basis.

According to a letter to the Port Commission from Glenn McCullough, executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, “The site development work proposed by the Warren County Port Commission demonstrates the Port’s commitment to developing qualified available sites that meet the needs of prospective businesses in the current business environment.”

“With these grants, we are pleased to continue to support the important work Vicksburg is doing to further prepare these sites for industrial development, enhancing the competitiveness of the sites, the community, and the State of Mississippi,” McCullough added.

The Grant will help offset costs to construct the road to Site B at Ceres and to rehabilitate existing water infrastructure. Site B is Warren County’s largest industrial site at approximately 180 acres. The site was recently certified as Project Ready by Entergy Mississippi along with two other sites in the park. The construction of the access road and the improvements to the water system will make the site one of the most competitive in the state of Mississippi.

“I greatly appreciate the partnership we have with the Mississippi Development Authority. Their grant provides an essential building block in the economic development future of our community.”Dr. Jeff Holland, president of the Warren County Board of Supervisors said in a statement.

“We are proud to receive another round of funding from the Mississippi Development Authority to support the preparation of the community’s industrial assets,” said Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. in the statement. “I am particularly appreciative of the fact that the MDA understands our plans to make this region more competitive and provides resources that our community can match to accelerate our preparation and success.”

Don Brown, vice-chairman of the Warren County Port Commission added, “We have had a superb couple of years in terms of economic development, and we are proud that the partnership’s efforts have generated the announcement, of over 730 new jobs in that timeframe alone. That being said, there is more work to do and more opportunities to realize for our community, and that is why this work and this grant are so important. We have to make our sites the most competitive they can be in order to have a better chance at winning more projects.”