White River in the News: White River Regional Port Authority Receives Grants for Port Road Construction
January 14, 2019: Newport Independent (full link below)
White River in the News: White River Regional Port Authority Receives Grants for Port Road Construction
The White River Regional Port Authority, with assistance from the Newport Economic Development Commission, completed Phase I of an access road into the future site of the White River Port in Newport. The project was funded by a $134,000 grant from the Arkansas Waterways Commission and a 10% match given to the Port Authority from the NEDC. In addition, the Port Authority also received a $141,720 grant from the Arkansas Waterways Commission for Phase II of the access road. Special thanks goes to Waterways Commissioner for the White River, Jeff Rutledge and Chairman Harvey Joe Sanner, along with the staff of the Waterways Commission led by Deidre Smith.
The Newport Economic Development Commission reported on the growth the NEDC, the City and the County worked on, including:
The Newport Economic Development Commission working with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission began the process of certifying a Mega Site in Jackson County. The site contains 3,200 acres and will be the largest industrial site in Arkansas when certified. Through the year, several of the hurdles for certification were cleared, and the NEDC hopes to finalize the certification of the site in 2019.
In May, Gränges Americas selected Jackson County as the site for their $26 million investment in an aluminum manufacturing process over a site in another state. Gränges had purchased the assets of the bankrupt Norandal Company and selected Newport as the site for this expansion.