Regional Development Minister Brendon Grylls announced the second round of the South West Regional Grants Scheme program in Bunbury last week.

Under the scheme, $45 million will be shared between the nine Regional Development Commissions.

South West Development Commission chief executive officer Don Punch said the Commission would receive $5 million in the new allocation of the grants scheme.

Mr Punch said groups have been waiting for the launch of the second round, and already identified projects.

The latest round of contestable grants is part of a total pool of $73 million allocated to regional communities through the Regional Development Commission structure in the 2009-10 budget.

From this pool, $28 million has been made available for projects identified by the Regional Development Council in conjunction with the nine Commissions.

The Council is the peak advisory body to the State Government on regional development issues.

Applications for the grants will close on February 10.