Bids sought for maritime academy

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Jackson County is inviting companies to bid on a $20 million maritime training facility to be built on Ingalls Shipbuilding property. On Monday, the Board of Supervisors and Port Authority's Board of Commissioners passed a joint resolution to advertise bid on the shipbuilding academy. The project, funded through a Hurricane Katrina community development block grant, will help Ingalls expand its two- to four-year apprentice program to about 1,000 students, leaders have said. Construction on the 76,000-square-foot facility is expected to take 18 months. (Source: MississippiPress, 09/20/11)