State allocates $1.7 million to redevelop old Natchez IP site

NATCHEZ, Miss. – The governor has awarded Adams County $1.7 million to help make the old Natchez International Paper site ready for new industry.

“The over $100 million investment I announced today will help Mississippi continue its record-shattering economic development efforts, attract billions in future capital investment and strengthen our entire state,” Reeves said in detailing the various allocations Thursday.

The land on Lower Woodville and Carthage Point roads is being marketed as the “Mississippi River Energy Complex,” said Chandler Russ, executive director of Natchez Inc., the industrial recruitment agency for the city and county.

Russ noted recently that the property is already occupied by industries that have invested more than $70 million into their developments and employ more than 100 people. The industries include Phibro, a tire-recycling facility.

To continue making the old IP site “shovel-ready” for more industries, Adams County has received more than $4 million from the state. That includes $740,000 for completing site development of 40 acres and $3.5 million for the remaining property “to achieve full shovel-ready status,” Russ said. 

The $1.7 million the governor announced Thursday for Adams County is tucked into more than $100 million distributed to cities and counties throughout Mississippi. The money is from various state and federal sources, such as the Mississippi Development Authority, Appalachian Regional Commission and Delta Regional Authority.