The Victoria, Australia government has awarded a $1.97 million grant to medical cannabis company Cann Group to assist with electricity upgrades at a cultivation and production facility in Mildura. The project was eligible for the Regional Jobs Fund grant as the facility has the potential to create 150 local jobs.
Cann Group CEO Peter Crock said the support of the Victorian Government is critical in developing the state’s leadership position in the emerging Australian medicinal cannabis industry. He said the company chose Mildura “due to the region’s agricultural and horticulture heritage and because of the local climate, specifically, the days of sunshine and high light intensity which are conducive to cultivating cannabis crops.”
“Our plans to develop commercial scale production capacity at Mildura are central to the company’s strategy of being a fully integrated medicinal cannabis company that can service both Australian domestic patients and access valuable overseas markets. This grant is a tangible demonstration of support from the Victorian Government in terms of our objectives.” – Crock in a statement
Minister for Agriculture and Regional Development Jaclyn Symes said in a Facebook post that the project “has already supported jobs for 133 locals during construction,” noting that the site will be capable of growing 70,000 kilograms of cannabis. The Victorian Government’s Medical Cannabis Industry Development Strategy aims for the state to supply half of Australia’s medicinal cannabis by 2028, she said.
“This is a hugely promising sector, and backing projects like this puts Victoria at the forefront of medicine and the creation of a new local industry,” she said.
In 2017, Cann Group was the first firm issued a Cannabis Research License by the Australian government.
Note: All currency in Australian dollars
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