"Council received 47 expressions of interest in the fund, requesting approximately $250 million across the nine years 2013/14 to 2012/22. These came from a wide range of public, private, Maori and community entities throughout the region,'' she said.
"What the expressions of interest process has shown us is that this fund will fill a need within the Bay of Plenty to assist with infrastructure development. However the process has also highlighted that due to the high demand, applications will need to provide a strong business case to be considered for the hotly contested funding that is available.''
Organisations considering applying to the fund are invited to attend a public briefing at 2pm on Thursday, November 8 at The Orchard, Te Puke. To register for the briefing, email rif@boprc.govt.nz.
To read more about the fund, visit the Regional Council's website www.boprc.govt.nz/rif