A shipping center under construction in Bismarck received a $1 million federal grant on Wednesday, which will provide more than one-fourth of the project's infrastructure costs.

Gov. John Hoeven and Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., both announced Wednesday that the U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration awarded $1,024,000 for the Northern Plains Commerce Centre.

According to information from Hoeven's office, the infrastructure costs are expected to be $3.8 million. That number includes installing water, sewer, storm sewer and utilities to the NPCC, located near the airport.

The city is also funding the project with $2 million from the Department of Transportation that Conrad requested in the recently passed transportation bill. The city has also applied for $1.2 million from the Railway Loan Fund, available through the state Department of Transportation, and the Vision Fund has authorized up to $5 million for the project.

"We need to put together different programs to develop a big project like this,"Hoeven said.

Bobcat, which will be one of the first beneficiaries of the transloading facility, has previously announced that it will initially create 100 new jobs and possibly more in the future.

Private investment in the NPCC totals $16.5 million, including $9.5 million from Bobcat to build a manufacturing support facility.

Hoeven said there will be other companies that use the facility, but so far none have come forward announcing they will construct buildings at the site.

Conrad said he expects hundreds of shippers to benefit from the center.

"This state-of-the-art shipping facility means big things for North Dakota," Conrad said. "The NPCC will give agriculture producers, manufacturers and business people throughout North Dakota an unprecedented opportunity to better access the global economy."

The city is opening bids for water and sewer work on Friday and for some preliminary road work on Tuesday. Infrastructure work is scheduled for completion before the end of the year.

Once completed, the 220-acre facility will use Interstate 94 and U.S. Highway 83 for ground transportation, and rail service from Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Dakota Missouri Valley and Western.

(Reach reporter Tom Rafferty at 223-8482 or tom.rafferty@;bismarcktribune.com.)