South Georgia Tech Diesel and Automotive Center construction underway

South Georgia Technical College has received approximately $3.45 million in funding from the State Legislature to renovate and expand its existing Diesel Technology Building and the Morgan Transportation Center which houses the Automotive Technology and Automotive Collision Repair Technology programs, announced South Georgia Tech President Dr. John Watford.       “We would like to thank Governor Nathan Deal and the State Legislature, especially State Representative Mike Cheokas, for this funding,” said Dr. Watford. “Diesel Technology is one of Governor Deal’s Strategic Industries Workforce Development initiatives and these funds will allow us to renovate and expand our facilities to provide students with a state-of-the-art Diesel and Automotive Center.”       Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) Deputy Commissioner Matt Arthur and State Representative Mike Cheokas attended the TCSG Diesel Equipment Technology Strategic Industries Forum hosted on the South Georgia Tech Americus campus recently and had the opportunity to see the construction progress.       “On behalf of the Technical College System of Georgia, we appreciate the support that the Governor and the State Legislature provide to our system and our colleges,” said Deputy Commissioner Arthur.   “Technical colleges provide valuable educational and workforce development services to the citizens of our state.   This type of additional funding allows us to better serve students in the areas that are of critical importance to our state by providing a trained workforce to businesses and industries.”       The $3.45 million funding will allow the college to completely renovate the Morgan building which was built in 1957 and the Diesel Equipment Technology building which was constructed in 1996. In addition to renovating the combined 36,700 sq. ft. of space in those two buildings, the funding will also provide new construction of approximately 14,000 sq. ft. of classroom and lab space. The new construction will connect the two buildings into one state-of-the-art Diesel and Automotive Center.       The construction began in May and is expected to be completed in December 2016.