Grants and loans for projects involving three internationally based companies were among the financial incentives approved during the OneGeorgia Authority's board meeting Wednesday.

Led by Gov. Sonny Perdue, the state's financing arm signed off on a $1 million Economic Development and Expansion, or EDGE, grant to help with building improvements at the Toombs County facility that will house a Chicken of the Sea tuna canning operation. Tri-Union Seafoods LLC, the canning company, is subsidiary of the well-known international tuna brand's Thailand-based parent company. The company has pledged to create 350 jobs in Georgia.

EDGE grants are used when rural Georgia communities compete against other states for company relocations or expansions, according to the OneGeorgia Authority's Web site. All grants approved were part of the original incentive packages that drew the companies to the state.

The board also approved a $5 million EDGE loan to help the Savannah Economic Development Authority with site preparation and infrastructure support for Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas Inc.'s $325 million gas turbine components plant. The Japanese firm has said that its new factory will create more than 500 jobs by 2016.

The Hart County Industrial Building Authority will receive an EDGE Award worth $200,000 for site preparation. Ritz Instrument Transformers Inc., a German manufacturer of transformers used in electrical power systems, is building a new $3.4 million, 37,000-square-foot factory that will create 50 jobs in two years.

For more information, visit www.onegeorgia.org.

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