Mr Cadogan was commenting after showing Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones around the Clutha district on Wednesday to discuss potential projects which could tap into the fund.
Mr Cadogan told the Otago Daily Times the minister had indicated enthusiastic support for helping complete the next section of the Clutha Gold Trail, from Lawrence to Waihola.
The project suffered a setback last year when the trust running it was told not to expect funding from the New Zealand Cycle Trail Enhancement and Extension Fund within the next five years.
Mr Cadogan said Mr Jones met a delegation of about 10 cycleway trust members in Lawrence and encouraged them to get a funding application together within months.
The Clutha District Council had also included $1million for the project in its long-term plan, subject to public consultation, to help kick-start the next stage of the project, Mr Cadogan said.
Together, the funds promised to deliver positive progress, he believed.
"This is turbo-boosting the project's timeframe ... [to] look at the potential to green-light the project in the coming months.
"It was a tonic, it really was. I've been with these groups and everyone's trying to hold together and stay positive. When you get told you're not going to get any money, it's hard going to stay together.
"They were in a buoyant mood when we left them in Lawrence the other day, that's for sure."
But the cycleway was just one project among a group that could become candidates for a slice of the regional development fund, Mr Cadogan said.
Other projects were also being pulled together, but could not yet be made public, as the district looked to make the most of the opportunity, he said.
He had discussed them with Mr Jones during their tour, which took in Milton, Lawrence, Tapanui and Gore, Mr Cadogan said.
"There was no firm commitment on money, but there was certainly an enthusiasm around the projects in our district that would change the trajectory of our economy."
Mr Jones is encouraging councils and mayors across the country to lead the funding-bid process, to provide a centralised point of contact, and Mr Cadogan said that would happen.
The cycleway bid by the Clutha Gold trust would be made "in tandem" with the council, which would act as a "conduit", he said.
The fund's focus was on projects that delivered regional economic benefits, and "everything that I'm hearing that is coming out of Otago and out of Southland are mutually beneficial to the wider region".
"We know the potential in our district. We know how we've been straddled to materialise that potential in recent years.
"Now to have it actually in front of you, that it is a tangible prospect that we're going to be able to unleash the true potential of our district and the wider region, it's just so heartening," Mr Cadogan said.
