- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Economic Development
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has secured $12.6 million in federal grants to develop an industrial park and equip a workforce training center, pairing space for business tenants with training for industrial jobs.
The U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded $10.7 million for roads, water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure serving a planned industrial site on tribal lands. The tribe plans to offer more than 200 acres of shovel-ready land that can accommodate a variety of tenants, with groundbreaking planned for 2027.
“We have run out of industrial property, and this investment gives us the infrastructure to bring industry to Choctaw lands and create jobs for our community,” Tribal Chief Cyrus Ben said in a statement.
A separate $1.9 million grant will provide vocational training equipment for the tribe’s Workforce Training Center, which is under construction. Equipment will support instruction in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration; electrical work; welding; and industrial controls. The tribe identified those trades as the ones most in demand among industrial employers.
The training award was included in a $62 million package EDA announced Sept. 10 for projects across five Southeastern states through its fiscal 2025 Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance programs.
The tribe did not provide additional details on total project costs, prospective tenants, the training center’s opening date or annual capacity, or projected jobs and private investment.
The tribe employs more than 5,000 tribal and nontribal workers in permanent, full-time jobs, according to its release. Its lands span 35,000 acres across 10 Mississippi counties.
