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Massive mill would impact area A German steel plant that could locate in the Calvert area of northern Mobile County would require a construction force of 29,000 to build- more people than all of the 28,000 or so residents of Clarke County. That is just one of the mind-blogging statistics of the proposed $2.3 billion plant that would create nearly 3,000 direct jobs with a potential for 38,000 to 52,000 indirect jobs in the region over a 20-year period. The industry is ThyssenKrupp Steel AG and ThyssenKrupp Stainless AG, related companies that now employ more than 180,000 people in 70 countries. The proposed site is just off of Highway 43, between Calvert and Mt. Vernon. Known as the Tensaw tract, the 3,000 or so acres has access to Highway 43 on the west side and the Tombigbee River on the east. Rail service would be available from Norfolk Southern. Although the site is in Mobile County, it is less than a 50-mile drive from central Clarke County and would be even closer for residents in the southern part of the county. Jackson Mayor Richard Long is excited about the prospects, "The announcement that the choices have been narrowed to Alabama and Louisiana is oustanding news for the state, Jackson, Clarke County and Southwest Alabama. The 29,000 construction jobs are an enormous number as well as the 3,000 permanent jobs. "Unlike the Montgomery Hyundai project, this time Jackson is on a major 4-lane U.S. highway from Mobile and we will experience tremendous opportunities from the project. We have the infrastructure to attract and service these opportunities but this will increase greatly the demand for housing, hotels, restaurants, and other service industries. Jackson and Clarke County are now experiencing many new opportunities but this will be a significant life changing opportunity for all of the citizens of Clarke County." While many are optimstic, the state is still in a fierce war with Louisiana to secure the plant. Louisiana's site is on the Mississippi River and that is a distinct advantage over the Tombigbee. Slabs of steel would be shipped to the site from a ThyssenKrupp mill in Brazil for processing. Ships can sail straight up the Mississippi River to the Louisiana site. At the Alabama site, they would have to be off loaded in Mobile and barged upriver to the mill. Gov. Bob Riley and others from the state met with ThyssenKrupp officials in Germany last week. "think it is a horse race, I really do," Riley said of the state's chances. Riley has called a special legislative session to begin Monday, a week before the regular session starts, to address multi-million dollar incentives needed to lure ThyssenKrupp and others the state is courting. Legislators will be asked to pass a constitutional amendment increasing the amount the state can borrow to lure economic investors to $750 million. The limit is now capped at $350 million and the state is at $305 million of that. Voters would have to ratify the changes, likely in a special refrendum sometime this summer. Riley and others were fearful that the measures could get bogged down during the regular session.
If the ThyssenKrupp project and the others that are being courted come through, the $100,000 price of a special session will be a small price to pay.
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