PRESS RELEASE

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (April 4, 2022)– The Arkansas Waterways Commission (AWC) announced today that the Arkansas Port, Intermodal, and Waterway Development Grant Program is accepting applications for the 2022 grant season. $1,952,102.55 in funding is available.

The Arkansas Port, Intermodal, and Waterway Development Grant Program is open to Arkansas public port or intermodal authorities or facilities located along the Mississippi, Ouachita, Red, and White Rivers. The program provides public funds for projects such as construction, improvement, capital facility rehabilitation and expansion of public port and intermodal facilities, including maritime-related industrial park infrastructure developments. The program can fund up to 90% of the project cost. Dredging projects are also eligible with a 50% match.

“Commercially navigable waterways are an economic driver for Arkansas. Barge transportation is the most cost-effective, safe, and eco-friendly mode of shipping bulk and oversized freight,” says AWC Director Cassandra Caldwell. “Industries pay an ad valorem tax on the value of barges traversing Arkansas’ navigable rivers. This grant program boosts Arkansas’ competitive advantage by reinvesting those ad valorem taxes in our public port infrastructure.”

Applications are available on our website at www.waterways.arkansas.gov. All applications and supplemental documentation must be submitted no later than 11:59 pm on Sunday, May 15, 2022.

About the Arkansas Waterways Commission

The Arkansas Waterways Commission, a division of the Arkansas Department of Commerce, is the sole state agency responsible for developing, promoting, and protecting waterborne transportation in Arkansas. The Commission also promotes economic development for ports on the five commercially navigable rivers of the state: The Arkansas, Mississippi, Ouachita, Red, and White Rivers. The Arkansas Department of Commerce is the umbrella department for workforce and economic development drivers. Its divisions and regulatory boards include Division of Aeronautics, Waterways Commission, Wine Producers Council, Division of Workforce Services, Office of Skills Development, State Bank Department, Insurance Department, Securities Department, Economic Development Commission and Development Finance Authority. It was established July 2019 as part of Governor Asa Hutchinson’s wide-sweeping efficiency and transformation efforts to reduce 42 cabinet agencies to 15 while maintaining services for all Arkansans.