BATON ROUGE - Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration is again extending the deadline for small businesses damaged by last year's flooding to seek interest-free, partially forgivable loans.

  

The deadline for submitting loan applications had been Tuesday. Amid a slow pace of submissions from businesses, the Office of Community Development says applications will continue to be accepted.

  

No new deadline was announced.

  

Loan terms also were tweaked, doubling the percentage that will be forgiven.

  

The $43 million program offers loans from $10,000 to $150,000 to businesses harmed by the March and August 2016 floods. Forty percent of the loan is forgiven when the other 60 percent is repaid.

  

Nearly $4 million in loans have been processed so far.

  

The loans can be used to pay rent, utilities, mortgage, wages and some non-construction repair expenses.