A new industrial development project could come to Columbus if some road blocks can be cleared, according to Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins.
Higgins visited the Columbus Light & Water board during its meeting Thursday to talk about economic development efforts at the Lowndes County Port. Higgins said development at the port is probably CL&W’s best chance for a “big-time success.”
Higgins said there’s a potential 90-plus acre site at the port — including land occupied by the now-defunct KiOR plant and a wood chipper — that could be home to a major development.
“That 90-100 acre site out there is a resource and we should treat it as such,” Higgins said. “We should not, in my mind, put a chipper there, or a pellet plant. We need to get the KiOR site cleared off, we need to get the chipper site cleared off and we need to market this as a 95-100 acre site.”
Higgins said one company is looking at the site as it considers a $150 million capital expenditure that will create 85 jobs that pay $60,000 per year. He said there’s a chance for the project to double with a second phase.
While Higgins didn’t name the company, he said it’s an Asian, publicly-traded company that’s “at the top of the game that they’re in.” The company is considering sites in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and Louisiana.
A new industrial development in Columbus could provide a significant boost to CL&W. General Manager Todd Gale and several board members have repeatedly mentioned the loss of industry in the city has hurt CL&W’s revenue.
Higgins said the company will make a decision on final sites in September, will consider a best and final offer in November and should select a final site by the end of the year.
However, Higgins said the KiOR site still needs to be cleared, and the site owner has repeatedly delayed in removing the old equipment.
Georgia Renewable Power, a company that focuses on coal plants and wood-chip mills, purchased the KiOR plant in October. Higgins said the equipment was supposed to be removed by the end of 2015, but port officials gave the company until March. He said the deadline was then extended to July.
“There is no way that thing can be gone by August,” Higgins said. “There is no way. We’ve got a company that’s making final decisions in October, November, December of where they’re going to go. … That’s the problem we’ve got in marketing that site.”
Higgins said he’s suggested charging Georgia Renewable Power a daily fee for every day that it takes to remove the KiOR facilities from the site, but so far, that hasn’t happened.
“These people that come in, they should see a first-class facility,” Higgins said. “We’ve got the water, the sewer, the electricity — we’ve got all the things there. That should be our flagship site.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.