Arkansas governor unveils plans for $1.1 billion steel mill
BY Staff and Wire Reports
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
1/30/13 at 2:32 AM
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe unveiled the state's largest ever economic development project Tuesday, saying investors are poised to build a $1.1 billion steel mill along the Mississippi River if legislators approve startup funding.
Big River Steel LLC, to be located near Osceola - about 40 miles north of Memphis, Tenn. - would employ 525 people with an average salary of $75,000 - twice the Arkansas average.
Beebe said for the project to go forward, the Legislature must authorize $125 million in incentives and the plant must meet regulatory approval.
The mill would turn Mississippi County into one of the nation's largest steel producers, Beebe said. Nucor Corp. already operates a steel mill at nearby Blytheville. Since it opened in 1988, the county has seen its unemployment rate cut in half.
"This could do exactly the same thing again and then some," Beebe said at a news conference unveiling the plant.
Associated Images:
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe: He wants the Legislature to authorize $125 million in incentives for Big River Steel LLC.
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