BYHALIA, Miss.–Is the Delta being left in the dust? That question was asked during this year’s legislative session when several big economic projects were announced, one of which is on the outskirts of the Delta. Groundbreaking was Friday for the Amplify Electric Vehicle Battery Plant in Marshall County.
“There are gonna be 2,000 people working on this site for years to come,” Gov. Tate Reeves remarked to reporters after the ceremony. “That’s 2,000 more people that are gonna be able to provide for themselves and their families because these are good-paying jobs.”
It has been estimated that the average salary for people working at the plant could be around $65,000 per year.
While those Delta lawmakers did not reject the state’s efforts to bring Amplify and Amazon to Mississippi, they did question why it seems the big projects go to other regions of the state.
One reason may be site development.
Marshall County Supervisor Charles Terry described the “generational impact that will improve the lives of citizens of Marshall County and surrounding areas”.
The county spent years and millions of dollars on developing the area where the battery plant will be located. That is money that is hard to come by for most Delta counties. Companies generally want to know that the county is invested in their success and seek a site that is ready to the extent of being able to provide water, sewer and enough power. Still, the state is assisting in that regard and in building access roads in and out of the plant site.
The Amazon project in Madison County is expected to have an impact on Delta people, providing jobs for construction of adequate power facilities.
