A county suffering from an 11 percent
The ceremony at the Big River Steel site marks the beginning of work for the state's first "superproject" under a 2004 amendment that allows Arkansas to borrow money to help lure major employers. The state has issued $125 million in bonds for the project, which is also receiving millions in other public funds for its construction.
"Welcome to steel mill heaven," John Correnti, Big River Steel's CEO and chairman, said at the ceremony.
More than 2,000 people are expected to be hired to work on constructing the plant, which will take about 20 months to complete. Once finished, the plant is expected to employ more than 500 people with an average annual pay of $75,000.
Local leaders say the influx of jobs will be a major boost for a county suffering from an 11 percent unemployment rate. Osceola Mayor Dickie Kennemore said his city is already seeing new homes being purchased and firms looking at building additional homes for the workers expected.
"It's going to positively affect citizens of all of northeast Arkansas for years to come, directly and indirectly. You get more workers, you get more school teachers, more grocery stores," Kennemore said. "We went through the downside of the domino effect, and now we're coming to the upside of the domino effect."