ENID (AP) -- Backers of a proposed ethanol plant in Enid say market conditions have led them to put the proposal on hold.

"The money is there, but we have made a corporate decision not to build in the current economy," said Tim Barker, vice president of development for Orion Ethanol.

Oklahoma Ethanol, a cooperative effort by Oklahoma Sustainable Energy and Chaparral Energy, also plans to build an ethanol plant in Enid, although it has not broken ground on the project.

Barker said market factors blocking the Orion proposal include corn prices that are at a 10-year high, lower oil prices, high construction costs and negative investor sentiment due to some ethanol stock losses.

There also is uncertainty over the direction the Bush administration will take on ethanol tax credits, he said. The administration has supported ethanol credits but recently began talks with Brazil over removing the import tariff on ethanol from the South America nation.

"With those things going on, we are redesigning and rebidding to get our capital costs down to a level it is economical to build," Barker said.

The project will take time, but he said the plant eventually will be built in Enid.

Barker said all of the economic factors do not have to change for Orion to move on constructing the plant. If the price of corn goes down or construction costs drop, the project will go ahead.

"We will still build with $4 corn if the construction costs are right," he said.

State Rep. Mike Jackson, R-Enid, said that although no one has asked

Jackson wrote the original bill creating tax credits. An extension to 2011 would give plants like Orion more time to get into production, he said.

Jon Blankenship, president and CEO of the Garfield County Economic Development Alliance, said there are several factors involved, but he is confident Orion eventually will build its plant here.

"It's a short-term trend -- declining prices for oil and rising prices for corn," he said.

The Enid News & Eagle contributed to this report.