The buzz was right. The super project is a new steel mill in Mississippi County. The state will pay $125 million of the construction cost ($50 million in a loan and the rest in a direct grant that means a greater cost because the bonds will have interest charges.) News release: Big River Steel, LLC today announced plans to build a more than $1 billion steel mill in Mississippi County, Arkansas that will directly employ more than 500 people with annual average compensation of $75,000 a year. The plans are contingent on approval by the legislature authorizing the state to issue $125 million in general obligation bonds under the authority of Amendment 82 and all necessary regulatory approvals. As required by the Amendment, Governor Mike Beebe will be referring the project to the legislature for its consideration. This is the first time Amendment 82 has been triggered since its adoption during the November 2004 general election. It allows the state legislature to approve up to 5 percent of the state’s general revenue budget to be used for bonding of super economic development projects. John Correnti is Big River Steel’s chief executive officer and heads a group of investors backing the project. Click here to read the full story from Arkansas Times.
$1 Billion Steel Mill Announced for Mississippi County
