On May 5, 2023, Governor Brian Kemp signed the state budget that included $2.7 million in design funding for Augusta Technical College’s large capital project request: a new advanced manufacturing & engineering technology facility that will be located in Columbia County. With the approval of design funding, the college is now in line to obtain $35,970,00 in construction funding in FY25 and $6,965,000 in FF&E in FY26.

The facility is planned to be 81,000 square feet and will house engineering technology programs (architectural, computer/electrical, mechanical, and nuclear), machine tool/CNC, chemical technology, industrial automation, mechatronics/robotics, metrology and quality management, hydraulics/pneumatics, additive manufacturing/3D printing, welding, and soft-landing space for economic development projects and/or research and development projects.

Dr. Jermaine Whirl, President of Augusta Tech, stated, “We’re thankful to Governor Kemp, the state legislature, TCSG commissioner Greg Dozier, and the TCSG state board for their support of this important project. Advanced manufacturing employs over 24,000 individuals within the region and this new facility will allow us to significantly increase our training capacity while assisting with recruitment of new companies. I want to give a special thanks to every member of our delegation: Rep. Jodi Lott, Rep. Barry Fleming, Rep. Mark Newton, Rep. Brian Prince, Rep. Gloria Frazier, Sen. Harold Jones, Sen. Max Burns, Rep. Karlton Howard, Rep. Lynn Gladney, and Sen. Lee Anderson who spearheaded our efforts in Atlanta. We also thank both Russell Lahodny and Sue Parr, from the Columbia County and Augusta Metro Chambers respectively, who co-authored support of this effort. Lastly, I want to thank Chairman Doug Duncan, Administrator Scott Johnson, members of the Columbia County Commission and economic development authority that assisted throughout this process. Our board of directors led by Pat Goodwin and foundation board led by Randy Hatcher are appreciative of everyone’s efforts. We look forward to moving forward with the design of the facility in the upcoming months."The college looks forward to announcing the location of the facility as well as a major donor that will support this project in the upcoming months.