Multinational company eyes St. James for $700M ammonia plant

Minnesota-based Mosaic has begun engineering and design work on a possible $700 million ammonia plant at the company’s existing Faustina site in St. James Parish, LED reports. The project would create 53 new direct jobs paying an average of more than $83,000 a year, plus benefits, and LED estimates an additional 366 new indirect jobs would result from the expansion. An estimated 1,400 workers would be required for construction. Mosaic expects to make its decision in mid-2013. Construction would start in 2014, with operation likely to begin in early 2016. To secure the project, the state will offer Mosaic a Modernization Tax Credit of $3 million, claimed over a five-year period, and the services of the LED FastStart workforce development program. The company is expected to utilize the state’s quality jobs and industrial tax exemption incentive programs. More details on today’s announcement are available in the full release here.