Treasury Awards Puerto Rico $158M in Capital Projects Fund Support

The Treasury Department approved about $158 million in Capital Projects Fund support Wednesday for Puerto Rico to build broadband infrastructure and multipurpose community facilities. The funding will support two efforts. It will fund the "resiliency and reliability of the island's high speed internet access" through a submarine cable resiliency program, said Capital Projects Fund Director Joseph Wender during a roundtable. The program will include building a new submarine fiber route to Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic and U.S. Virgin Islands to create three cable landing stations, Wender said. The new support will also fund a multipurpose community technology center program for public access to the internet and technology. "We're certainly headed in the right direction," said Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi (D): "These funds will make a huge difference in Puerto Rico since they will help us ensure that our island has the necessary broadband infrastructure and that all our citizens have the internet access, tech assistance, and training they need and deserve."