Georgia Northwestern Technical College will hold a land-clearing ceremony Friday for its future Catoosa County campus.

The ceremony marks the beginning of a partnership between Georgia Northwestern, Catoosa County, Georgia Department of Transportation, and Technical College System of Georgia to build a campus at the intersection of Cloud Springs and Dietz roads in Catoosa.

The total cost for building the Catoosa campus is expected to be about $13.6 million. Catoosa has donated the property for the campus and the state of Georgia has so far invested $3 million in the project.

Georgia Northwestern president Craig McDaniel will make a capital outlay presentation to the governor on Dec. 12, to ask for an additional $10.6 million needed to complete funding for the project. If Georgia Northwestern re-ceives full funding in the upcoming session, the project will be ready for bidding as soon as the bonds are sold which is typically toward the end of the calendar year, around November 2010.

The construction of the 65,000-square-foot facility is expected to take 12-15 months.

“The Catoosa County facility has the potential to benefit the entire region, not just northwest Georgia. It will be an asset to industrial developers in Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s service area,” McDaniel said.

“GNTC’s focus has been on planning programs that will supply the auto manufacturing industry with skilled workers, but we also have the opportunity to look at needs in the energy generation industry, construction, and service industries.

“We are excited about moving forward with the project and working together with the many entities that will help make the GNTC Catoosa County campus a reality.”